Ninjas and Time Space Travel Don't Mix
by cryptically
Summary: A series of drabbles centering around Kurogane, a luckless ninja who is bested by a pork bun, constantly mistaken for the hired help, and can never find clothes that he likes, no matter how many worlds he goes to.
1. Never Run Away From a Ninja

Author's Note:

Welcome to the Kurogane Drabbles! These are going to be short and sweet, with little/ no plot (but that may change later). This one takes place during the third episode of the anime, where Kurogane finds Tomoyo as a schoolgirl and decides to chase after her so that he can force her to remove his curse. Enjoy!

_Theme: Mantra _

---------------

Chase the princess, get the curse off. That's his mantra.

Tomoyo reached a dead end: a cold wall stared back at her.

"You ought to know better than to run away. Not smart, Tomoyo. Not when you've got a ninja on your tail."

She gasped. "How do you know my--?"

Kurogane rolled his eyes. "Stop playing dumb. Now remove that curse."

"Hey you!" A different voice. "You were with that Syaoran guy, right?"

Gritting his teeth, Kurogane drew his sword with a clash of metal. Alright, change in tactics.

Protect the princess. He smiles. Sounds just like home.


	2. Through Still Air

_ Theme: Be Careful _

_-------------------- _

The castle has grown empty without his presence. A casual observer might say she missed him, missed his rages and his brooding. As night descends from across the hills and sweeps over Tomoyo and her domain, it brings with it a severe finality: he's gone.

She walks across the spot on the floor where she sent him away, pausing. No, she doesn't regret it. It had to be done.

However, the reasoning and logic don't stop her from whispering to the cold, still air: "Be careful."

A breeze rustles through Shiragashi Castle.

And somewhere, eons away, he sleeps peacefully.


	3. The Constant Problem

_Theme: Hope_  
-----------

Kurogane bit the price tag off the shirt with a vengeance.

Was it so much to ask for stores to stock regular clothes? Honestly, didn't shopkeepers understand that flimsy, tight clothing held up barely better than paper in swordfights?

He sighed and looked at the black top resignedly. Given the way things were going, he was probably better off relinquishing all hope for practical fight-wear.

It was really that creature's fault for bringing him to these strange places, he reasoned. Next time he saw him he'd...

"Kurogane looks so pretty in his new shirt!" chirped Mokona.

"Shut up, pork bun."


	4. How We Negotiate

_Theme: People Skills _(100 words)_  
_

Kurogane teaches Syaoran how to deal with other people. Very much humour, with guest appearances made by Mokona and Fai! Also, if anyone wants to request/suggest a theme, feel free to do so.

_--------------------- _

"Please, we really need that!"

Pause.

"Syaoran-kun, I don't think this is going to work. Perhaps a different method...?"

"But we've got to help Sakura!"

"So, they have the feather, right?" Another, darker member of their party spoke.

"Yup! Mokona feels it!"

"But the--"

"Leave it to me. Take notes: this is how you negociate, kid."

Kurogane looked his opponent in the eye and flashed a dangerous grin.

"This can go one of two ways. Either you give us what we're looking for, or I come over there and _make _you give us what we're looking for. Any questions?"


	5. Good Morning, Kurogane

_Theme: Beginnings_

This drabble is a little longer than the rest, but I thought it was pretty funny. Suggestions as always are welcome, you'll start to see some appearing in chapters that follow. Enjoy!

_--------------- _

A few rays of sunlight began to drip in through the open window, proclaiming the advent of a peaceful morning. It was a time for sleeping in and waking up late, being carefree and not suffocating under a large, white lump.

Which, unfortunately, was exactly what a certain ninja was doing.

Kurogane choked and sat upright, gasping for air. The object on his face slid off to the floor with a soft "oof". In the few seconds it took him to brush the sleep from his eyes, he had recognized the cause of his distress and was already angry at it.

"Stop sleeping on my face!"

"But Kurogane's face is so comfy and warm!" wailed Mokona, displeased at being dislodged from a good sleeping spot. "It's a great place to sleep."

"That's no reason to lie all over my face!" The ninja spat, hoping that he didn't have fur in his mouth. "How do you think I'd breathe?"

Their voices carried down the hall and into the kitchen, where Fai and Sakura were preparing breakfast.

"I see Big Puppy woke up rested and well." Fai remarked merrily as he kneaded dough for cakes. Sakura, on the other hand, poked a concerned head down the hall.

"Are you sure everything's alright, Fai-san? It sounded really bad..."

Sure enough, Kurogane marched in, carrying Mokona by the ears.

"I found _this _on my head this morning."

"Oooh! Kurogane's so mean to Mokona! Mokona only wanted a place to sit--"

"Place to sit? You were sleeping, you liar!" He pulled on Mokona's ears.

"Ow!"

"Now, now, you two. Let's not fight so early in the morning." Fai set a plate of sweet rolls in front of them. "See? Sakura-chan and I were experimenting with some new dishes for the dessert menu. What do you think?"

"I think the only thing that this cafe serves is dessert." Kurogane muttered darkly.

Eager for sugar, Mokona leapt out of Kurogane's grip and plunged into the rolls. He offered one to each person before engulfing the rest of the plate.

"There! Yuuko should like that."

Kurogane stared at his sweet roll and poked it lightly. Much to his disgust, it gracefully exhaled a cloud of powdered sugar. Narrowing his eyes, he turned to the master chef.

"Can't you make anything that isn't sweet or candy-flavoured in some way?"

"Nope!" came the magician's cheery reply. "So you'd better eat up, Kuro-tan."

Kurogane sighed and contemplated how to avoid the frosting, powdered sugar, and sprinkles and still eat something. It was starting to look impossible.

Mokona noticed his sour mood and made an effort to help out. "Don't worry! Mokona will take care of it to make up for earlier!"

And with that, the vacuum-mouthed Mokona sucked up Kurogane's roll, sugar, sprinkles, and all.

"Why you--!"

"Aah! But Kurogane said he didn't want it!"

"I didn't give you permission to _eat _it, you over-fed puff ball!"

It was turning out to be another fine morning at the Cat's Eye Cafe.


	6. His Promising Student

_Prompt: School  
_

Requests will start appearing...next chapter, I think (I promise! I'm still working on finishing them). This is the a small drabble that I had finished from before and then promptly forgot about. So, as I get to work on writing, here's a drabble set in Oto, with some spoilers from book 6, and in Kurogane's POV (only still in the third person). As always, suggestions, requests, comments, etc. are appreciated and loved.

Thanks!

---------------

He wanted him to teach him how to swordfight.

No. Absolutely not. The boy's blind in his right eye.

How long had it been since he'd--

No. It would be too great of a hinderance. Whenever a fight picked up, he'd subconciously start to watch the boy instead of paying attention to his own battle. Sure, the enemies now weren't that bad-- anyone with half a brain could take out a low-level oni-- but later, when things got serious, not paying attention could mean the difference between living and dying.

And he was sure as hell not going to die just for some kid's sake.

So insistent...

It reminded him of someone. Someone, who, like the boy, did not give up easily. He smiled, more to himself than to anyone in particular.

Well, then. He had better be prepared for what was coming if he wanted to train under a master swordsman. It wasn't going to be fun.

Alright, he nodded, accepting the challenge. Traveling with these people has made him such a softie. He never would have taken on any students if he was back in Nihon.

"Kurogane-sama, is this how I hold the sword?"

Oh no, no swords. Not yet, anyway. How would he strike if he didn't know where the enemy was?

"...Oh."

Blindfolds first. That would teach him how to place himself in space as well as to locate things. He'd start with the very basics and work his way up from there.

"Blindfolds...with the sword?"

No. Put the sword down. Perhaps it's better if it's tied up, too, just in case.

"Ooof!"

His promising new pupil has just walked into a wall. He sighed.

This was going to take a lot of training.


	7. For the Last Lights to Fade

_Theme: Sorrow & Fai _

Set in Oto (again) (I seem to be in an Oto mood now), and massive spoilers for book 7. This takes place after Kurogane and Syaoran rush back to the Cat's Eye after finding out... (spoiler spoiler). Thanks to narrizan for the theme for this fic! This is what I thought of as soon as I read it, so if it's not what you wanted, I can do another for you. I just really wanted to try this out. (is a selfish author) (laughs)

Oh, random tidbit: this drabble also was influenced by The Fray's "How to Save a Life". So, tell me if you liked this one! And look forward to seeing more requests pop up--I'm sort of going out of order with them. xD;;

--cy!

----------

Kurogane could have laughed, if not for the lump in his throat. No art of killing that was closed to him: he could murder as efficiently with a katana as with a string or a scrap of metal. He could sneak past victims undetected, give the stealthiest fighters a run for their money.

All these things and yet, he hadn't been able to save a life.

"I'll wait until sunset. If you haven't returned, then I act on my own."

The air was ripe for action. Naturally, Syaoran would be given the right of retribution first, as the murderer was his teacher. Where did that leave him until sunset, then? He'd have the Cat's Eye to himself, to brood in and to wallow in its bitterness, as he awaited an outcome he knew would happen.

Kurogane sat back against a deserted chair in the decimated cafe and watched a cracked tea cup roll around on the floor, stirred so by the wind. Realization sank in and began to take the heat and anger away, leaving him with the cold dregs of remembrance.

How? A part of him asked. How could this have happened?

It shouldn't have bothered him this much. After all, how many people had he seen die before? But...this was different. Even though he hated admitting it, and would never ever have told anyone, he hadn't minded Fai. Discounting the nicknames among other things, Fai had been an experienced fighter and far more reliable than Syaoran, the sleep-prone princess, or the manjuu.

The magician had even become...something of a friend.

Kurogane kicked the tea cup into a corner. Casting a final glance out the window to check the position of the sun, he climbed the stairs, no longer averting his eyes from the "x" mark on the floor. It was all that remained.

He stared down at it and glared out the window again, willing the light to fade.

Come sunset, this Seishiro-san would have hell to pay.


	8. Liar, Liar

_Theme: Lies _

This one's for bloodytwistedangel, thanks for the suggestion! This one was really fun to write.

It takes place back in Koryu (I think?) in book 3, after Kurogane and Fai defeat the Kiishim and when Kurogane gets an unusual surprise...I'll leave it to the readers' discretion to figure out who's lying and who's telling the truth. ;D Enjoy!

--cy.

---------------

Kurogane had expected the Kiishim to strike a blow to his ribs and anticipating that, had placed the magazine in such a way to deter her claws from cleaving out his insides.

What he had not prepared for was the kiss.

"What spell did you cast on me, bitch?" He said through clenched teeth.

"Hmmm." She chuckled. "It's my way of saying thank you."

That was doubtful. Already, an uneasy feeling was starting to settle into the pit of his stomach.

"Oooh! Kurogane's been kissed!"

"Can it, you!"

"There's no need to be mean to Mokona-chan." chided Fai. Then, with a smile to the kiishim: "Kuro-pipi's just embarassed about having his first kiss in front of so many people."

Furious, the ninja rounded on them. "That was not my first kiss!"

Giggling, Fai pointed at Kurogane's face.

"Oh, really? Why are you blushing so much then, Kuro-muu?"

A whirl of laughter serenaded them, effectively silencing any snappy retort of Kurogane's.

"You little worms are so amusing."

The voice faded into the darkness, leaving Kurogane to wonder whether the Kiishim had been telling the truth about the kiss or if she was as much of a liar as he.


	9. He's Going Down Swinging

_Theme: Kurogane gets arrested _

Here's another really long drabble! This time it's for The Violent Tomboy, and it takes place just after Kuro-min gets sent to the Space-Time Witch. I guess it could be called AU, as it's what might happen if Kurogane decided to take his chances with modern Japan than give up Ginryuu.

Hope you like it, more requests are on the way!

--cy.

------------

Of course he'd never give up Ginryuu, Kurogane thought sourly. What sort of person could expect him to give up the most precious item in his life for passage to other worlds?

He'd just about had it with the Dimensional Witch forcing him to travel the worlds with a group of weirdos. No, _this _ninja would retain a scrap of independence and go it solo. After all, there had to be somebody in this world who could send him home. And when he got there, Tomoyo would have to answer to--

A rough hand grabbed his shoulder, attempting to force him into a wall.

"Hey, you! Don't you know that those kinds of swords are illegal here? Just what do you think you're doing?"

Kurogane, strongest ninja in Tomoyo-hime's guard and general bad boy of Nihon, did not appreciate being shoved into a wall. He showed this displeasure by hitting his aggressor forcibly with Ginryuu's hilt.

"Back off. I don't need anyone else spouting crap about my sword tonight. Unless..." He grinned wickedly. "...you want to see just how well it cuts. In that case, I'm more than happy to show you."

The police officer swallowed, then reached for something metallic and shiny linked around his belt. Instantly realizing that the man was going for a weapon, Kurogane drew his sword. This man would have to do better than that to surprise him with a small projectile.

Strangely, though, the man didn't attempt to throw the object at him: instead, he opened the circles up and held them out in front of him. The ninja was a little confused at this point. His enemy walked slowly up to him and made a motion toward his wrist with one of the circles.

Kurogane withdrew his hand from the man's reach, his mind grasping at straws to put together an explaination. Oh, hell with it. He'd just have to finish off this guy and get back to his search.

Pity, though. Fighting with an amatuer was so...tedious. Tsh. The guy didn't even know how to hold a weapon right. At least killing him would let him take out some of the anger that he felt.

A light flashed behind him. Swinging around, Kurogane saw the reinforcements swarm around him. Red and blue flashes pulsed through the rain, illuminating the soggy battle field. Other officers brandished more advanced weaponry and wore heavier armor.

Well, this was much more of a challenge.

As he was readying his arm to hew down the first offensive line, he heard something click and felt his arm pulled in a direction he hadn't wanted it to go. Panicking despite his training, he hacked at the gray circle (the same that the man had taken out earlier) to no avail. They surrounded him.

On the ride to the prison--for no doubt he was a hostage, he hated admiting it-- his capturers questioned him about strange things like "overly serious cosplay otaku" and "anime convention", saying that he'd "gotten too much into character for his own good". Kurogane didn't understand any of this and held a condescending silence.

Luckily for him, they'd left him to himself once they'd locked the prison door, which was not a smart move. In less than a minute, the ninja had vanished from the cell, sword and all. The night guard was unable to explain how he'd gotten out.

Two hours after leaving it, he sulked back into the witch's garden. He'd been arrested, imprisoned, shoved, interrogated, and still had found no means of transporting himself back to Nihon.

Stomping back to the witch, he thrust Ginryuu into her hands. If this was independence, then he was probably better off with the weirdos.

He'd come back for that sword, though. Just you wait.


	10. What Awaits

_Theme: Introspective!Fai and Sorrow _

This one's a repeat, because I didn't work the introspection part into the first one I did for narrizan. So, here's another sad!Fai and Kuro-muu fic! It's set in Shara, on a roof. If anyone else wants to request or suggest anything, feel free!

--cy.

_ ---------- _  
"You know it's never going to work."

Kurogane looked up from the roof tile he was contemplating to glare at the magician.

"What's not going to work?" He inquired, his speech punctuated by grunts as he nailed another tile into place. This stupid roof was going to take all night. Somehow he always ended up being the one who had to fix houses for other people...

Fai gestured around himself with a grand, sweeping motion. "This."

Clamping harder on the nails he held in his mouth, Kurogane muttered: "Stop being so damn cryptic and tell me what it is."

Fai smiled. "Our situation, Kuro-pipi!" Folding his legs close to his chest in his usual sitting position, he continued. "Just think how many feathers there are, how many millions of countries we still have to go to. Syaoran-kun is trying to collect thousands of feathers, you're trying to find one world out of a universe of worlds..."

"So?"

"So," Fai leant back and pondered the stars glitting above them. "it all seems very unlikely that you'll get where you're going. With each new world comes a new gamble. We could be killed in one and never accomplish any of our goals. We could live, but never travel to the place you're looking for. There's so many worlds, the chance of visiting a specific one is probably close to zero."

Kurogane put down the hammer and glanced out at the sky. Somewhere out there was Princess Tomoyo, the one he'd sworn to protect, existing out there, beyond his vision and beyond his reach. Yeah, he'd considered it. Considered it was far from probable that he'd be able to return home. He still went on with it, though. What had the kid said? It's a one in a million chance, but it's better than no chance at all.

"What about you? You didn't bring this up just to remind me about that. Have you resigned yourself to forever wandering aimlessly around worlds?"

Fai's eyes shifted from the night sky to the speaker.

"For me there will be a different fate, Kuro-run. You see, I'm at the middle part of a story I already know the end to."

"What kind of metaphor is _that_?"

The wizard laughed. "One of these days, in one of these worlds, maybe tomorrow, maybe years from now-- he'll catch up with me. Even if we do find all of Sakura-chan's feathers, even if you do go back to your world, I'll still be running from him until that day comes. It's like reading a old novel again: you know what the end is going to be, you only need to go through the middle part to get there. The ending doesn't change, depsite knowing what it is."

With a flicker of sadness, Fai returned his gaze to the air in front of him.

"Right now, we're all in the middle. Some of us just don't have their endings spelt out for them yet." He fell silent.

Kurogane at him sideways, trying to see if the change of angle helped in deciphering Fai's meaning. It didn't.

He'd gotten a lot more talkative about his purpose for joining them lately. Was it just the sake that the kannushi provided or was Fai actually...no...worried?

"But that's so far off, Kuro-myu! Besides, I want to see the place where you'd fit in and what kind of person this Tomoyo-hime is." His laughter and jovial mood instantly returned to him. "It must be a strange world!"

No, Kurogane thought, grimacing at Fai's antics. How could that magician expect to be taken seriously about something, then burst out into absurdity in the next moment? It's almost as if he wanted to be considered trivial...

Like he wanted everyone to discount his fears because he laughed at them.

"C'mon, Kuro-tan! Aren't you going to tell me about that princess?"


	11. Regressive Pull

_Theme: Snowball Fight _

Thanks again to The Violent Tomboy for the theme! I may do another snowball fight in the future...I have this awesome line that I didn't get a chance to use this time around. (plots evilly) So, look out for that one.

This drabble is set in Jade Country, has no spoilers, and is named for what people experience working at summer camps too long. Regressive Pull is when an adult, after being with children for a long time, starts to act like a child. I had to learn all about it for my job. xD Anyway, requests, suggestions, inaccuracies, anything that needs pointing out, I'd lovce to hear about. Thanks!

--cy.

_--------------------- _

Something wet, cold, and icy stung Kurogane on the left side of his face.

Wiping the snow off his doublet and jacket, he scoured the area for the thrower. Stupid kid. If he had Ginryuu with him, he'd be able to cleave any snowball in two before it hit him. Back in Nihon, in fact, Tomoyo-hime had seen that he'd gotten quite good at it.

"Do it again!" the princess had shouted gleefully, upon discovering his talent. Much to the dismay of her attendants, she spent an entire frigid afternoon hurling snowballs at her ninja and watching him slash them in two.

Kurogane still couldn't figure out what was so amusing about it: his hands had adhered themselves like immovable ice to Ginryuu's hilt and his face felt like a stiff mask of concentration, but something about it still made her smile...

_Whack!_

Kurogane whirled and faced his attacker, hand searching for a katana that wasn't there.

"Wheet-woo! Kuro-tan, you really aren't good at dodging things, are you?"

"I told you to stop saying the sound! And don't throw snowballs at me!"

Honestly, that mage could be so childish. Couldn't he see that he had a job to do, that he needed to get back to Princess Tomoyo as soon as possible? Throwing snowballs, how dumb could you get?

Sometimes, Kurogane felt as though he was traveling with a pack of kids. He sighed. It was tough being the adult all the time.

Tightly packing together a wad of snow, Kurogane hurled it back through the air at Fai. Childish or not, he couldn't stand being beaten at a snowfight.


	12. Saa, Kurogane's Being So Serious!

_Theme: Snowball fight, cont._

I had so much fun the first time, I couldn't stop. So, now...we're going to have a plot for a little bit! Things have continued from the last drabble, only now it seems that Kuro-min has roped in Mokona and Sakura for his team.

Welcome to the snowball fight story/ drabble arc. (evil laughter)

--cy.

--------

He tried to stop him. But no, that little manjuu just had to have things his own way. This was war! Serves him right for underestimating the enemy.

"Pork bun down! Repeat, pork bun down!"

"Mrmmfle! Mrmmfle umf Mrmmfle!"

Kurogane clenched his teeth. They had had the upper hand number-wise, but now their opponents had evened the play field. With Mokona down for the count, that left him with a grand number of...two team members, counting himself. This was not looking good.

"Kurogane-san?"

Something tugged at his sleeve.

"Kurogane-san, don't you think you're taking this a little _too _seriously?" Sakura smiled at him, before trying to dig Mokona out from under a snow pile. "I'll do my very best to help you, but I'm worried that you're overdoing it. Promise you won't wear yourself out, okay?"

Wear himself out? Kurogane sighed. This was war: you were supposed to be worn out. Fai's team may have the upper hand now, but he'd see that that would change...It wasn't about getting tired or cold or wet, it was about preserving one's honour.

A desert princess couldn't possibly understand ninja snowball fight pride.


	13. Saa, Look, It's the Three Musketeers!

_Theme: Snow Arc_

And so the snow fight continues...

-------------

"Do you understand? We move under the cover of these trees and establish a new base--" Kurogane pointed covertly across the snow drifts, "--there. We must not be seen."

"Okay, Kurogane-san. I just think I'm starting to..."

Sakura slumped over and fell onto the ninja's lap. Blushing furiously, he hastily propped her up against the rock they were sheltering behind. Irate as ever, Kurogane muttered to himself about sleepy head princesses making poor team mates in matters of snow and war.

Fai and Syaoran were hot on their tail, and though Kurogane had been careful enough to cover up any tracks they left behind, he knew that it was only a matter of time before the enemy arrived.

Tsh. Count on sleep-prone Sakura to take a nap when the going gets tough.

Still, he thought as he looked at her relaxed face and peaceful eyes, Sakura was his only team mate. Gathering her up in his arms, he slung her over his shoulder and made for the new base.

Kurogane wondered how many times he'd have to do this before she could handle being awake on her own. It was like being a baby-sitter or something.

"Kurogane...san?"

He grunted. "What?"

"I'm sorry for falling asleep. You can put me down now."

"We're almost there anyway. This way will be faster."

"...That's really nice of you, Kurogane-san. Thank you."

The ninja made a non-commital sound in reply.

Suddenly, a white sphere lunged towards them. Fearing an enemy attack while unguarded, Kurogane dove for shelter. However, the object was not a snowball, as he had first thought, but...

"Damn you, pork bun! Don't jump in front of people's faces! It makes them fall!"

"Mokona's so happy to find Kurogane and Sakura-chan again! Now we can be like the Three Musketeers!"

No. That _thing _was not a person, much less a musketeer, whatever that was.

"What are those, Mokona-chan?"

"Yuko told me all about them..."

Defeated, Kurogane leant back against the snow drift. Honestly, if Tomoyo only knew the things he had to put up with...He stopped that thought. If Tomoyo knew what he was doing, she'd probably fall off her throne laughing at him.

"One for all and all for one! Right, Kurogane-san?"


	14. Crimson Following

_Prompt: Red _

_A brief interlude from the snow arc. _

* * *

  
He may as well be painting.

There were days, not so long ago, when he was a terror. Sweeping over roofs, he had cut down those who dared make attempts on Princess Tomoyo's life. Not a one survived his sword. In those days, he could have painted Shirasaki red with blood.

Now, he's nailing tiles onto a roof that isn't his. He's never had to repair the palace roof--_ninja _do not lower themselves to home repair-- and finds the task boring.

No challenges, no difference from nail to nail. All that's left for him at the end of the day will be a sore arm and bruised fingers, not a cape spattered with scarlet, not a sword crying crimson.

He almost can't wait for night to come, but not for his old reasons. Instead of battles, he'll have planning tactics and a respite from roof repair. Looking up from his work, the terror of Nihon is greeted with a sea of red.

Blood never affected Kurogane, but seeing all the repair work he still needs to do is starting to make him sick.

Sometimes, in passing on the street, or while protecting his princess on a journey, whispers would follow after him as the townsfolk discussed the man in red and black. Crackpot seers hollowed that a train of spirits haunted him, reminiscent of the souls he'd killed previously. He hadn't believed in ghosts. If there was anything out there, he'd reasoned, it would have gotten to him a long time ago.

He believes in revenge. Perhaps a warrior would arise to challenge him, to make him pay for the debts of human life he's accrued over the years. He doubts, but has not ruled the possibility out entirely.

Red blobs of tile swim before his eyes as he wipes the sweat of his forehead. His arms and face feel warm to the touch and are starting to develop of a distinct rouge hue.

Maybe it's the sun, he's been outside too long. Maybe it's something else, the revenants and remnants from a past too glaring to fade away with time.

He grins, in spite of himself.

As the sun sinks down into the horizon, as ghosts and twilight visions combine in goodwill and avenging actions, the ninja on his rooftop perch can't help but notice how each tawny road, each beige dwelling, each natural pasture or path, seems as though it's been painted red.


	15. All These Hours Spent

Hi all!

These next few updates are some more reflective, character-study pieces that I had left over from the summer. As the end of school is coming up, I don't have much time to write, but I thought I'd share them anyway. Hope you like them!

_ Prompt: Hours_

* * *

It had been hours. 

Kurogane was not hiding in the shadows or perched threateningly on a roof, like some gargoyle to scare off trespassers. Quite contrarily, he was leaning against the wall by the princess' private chambers, waiting.

Ever since attaching himself to Tomoyo as a ninja, he had developed a rather possessive streak. No one was allowed within arm's reach of the princess without his eye on them, watching over the exchanges and conversings. While she held court, he defended the entrances and slew anyone who posed a problem to her safety.

Now the sun had set, the night had grown old. Fresh blood from his nightly occupation had dampened the black cloth of his cloak, permanently staining it, but not discoloring one strand of thread. There were somethings that could never be erased, no matter how invisible they looked.

Recently, the attempts on the princess' life had been growing more varied and intricate. On some nights after Kurogane retired to bed, he discovered assassins sneaking in, unnoticed by the guards. On others, nothing happened, providing a sense of uneasy calm.

With his hours guarding her past, he was no longer required to keep watch over his charge. Others, like Souma, would be patrolling the grounds around Shirasaki, others would protect her while he slept. They would take offense by his presence there-- didn't Nihon's best ninja trust them to handle basic tasks?

He did, to a point. He would trust them to keep the outsides of the palace safe; the insides, Tomoyo's chamber, those things belonged to him. On nights like these, he would trust no other.

Occasionally in a more delusional, sleep-deprived moment, he wondered what an embarrassment it would be should Tomoyo open the door and find him propped up beside it. Still, he continued to stand there, watching the moon weave its high arch in the sky.

All is silent. Hours pass.

The dull twittering of morning larks permeate the darkness, lulling Kurogane out of his brief stupor. Catching his breath--had something slipped past?-- he listens with a frantic heart for her breathing. It comes eventually, slow and muffled by heavy blankets.

The ninja sighs, lifts himself off the wall, and stretches his aching joints. He's held numerous vigils outside her door, yet his body still hasn't gotten quite the hang of sleeping standing up. It irks him.

As he walks away to the training grounds, he readies himself for a new day. Concentration comes harder now and he knows he must keep his skills top notch if he wants to continue serving her. Soon Souma or someone will notice, perhaps they already have, and will yell at him about his carelessness, not caring that he's killed more than he can count, or that his cape still reeks of sanguine odor.

She--or they, depending on who figures it out first-- will ask, "Why?"

Kurogane gives the door a parting glance.

So many midnight hours, so many weary nights... He'd gladly fight back Sleep from his eyes and struggle not to dream, gladly give up many more midnights, sacrifice his dark hours to unrest, not care if targets blur before his eyes or weakness grip his limbs in battle, if he could see that door remain shut until its occupant herself opened it.

He smiles to himself, vanishing into the darkness as yet untouched by Dawn.

A new hour begins. The hall is empty except for a princess walking through, unaware of her guardian and his hours before her door.


	16. He Always Sort of Knew

**Prompt**: Orange

I'll try and make sure that ones in the future aren't boring-- this is still the batch of summer ones, and I'm still trying to find all others I'd written. My room is such a mess. (sweatdrop) Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Somewhere, the sun is setting.

It breathes a tangerine glow over the lifeless houses and the mahogany bark of so many trees. It reflects and intensifies as it hovers above the lake, bathing the world in a storm of peach petals.

Kurogane is not fond of sunsets, or sunrises. One means the start of his work, the signals the end. Night has always meant being active for him, protecting Tomoyo from dangers that lurk when light fades.

Souma can't possibly be doing a good job, the boy doesn't need sword lessons-- what wouldn't he give to get back home?

He stares at the orange orb. He remembers her silhouette etched into his memory by the brightness of the sun behind her. Passing by, she left, but her shape was imprinted on his eyes, leaving marks wherever he looks. That night he cut down foes in a blur, not seeing anything beyond the coral remnant. Sleep remain elusive, for everywhere his vision roved, she too was there.

Why must she torment him so? Why wouldn't she fade away, become evanescent and take flight with the morning mists?

He sees her again, waving at him from far beyond the apricot sun and pastel skies. She's there, smiling her smug smile and walking away without a word of good-bye. Melting into the light behind her as she did before, the vision disappears, reminding Kurogane only too sharply of his predicament.

Out of angry whim and impluse, he hurls a rock at the receeding sun. This does nothing, changes nothing. But it makes him feel slightly better.

He wants to say that he'll be back and that she had better watch out, but something stops his throat from producing sound. Glaring at the stars that are starting to peek there the clouds at him, Kurogane returns to the house, now knowing that what he suspected was true.

An eternity could pass between them, but sunsets will always remind him of Tomoyo.


	17. Sword and Swordsman

_Prompt: Broken _

* * *

The feel of it wasn't the same. That was it, plain and simple.

No matter how many times he tossed the sword back and forth in his hands, testing the weight, teasing the steel into his palms, he couldn't shake the sense of unfamiliarity. Nothing, despite countless hours practicing with it, using it, or just carrying it around, wearing it through town, made any difference.

Kurogane sighed, placed the sword down on the table, and drew himself a chair from the desk in their quarters.

"Kuro-run? Sakura-chan asked me to tell you that dinner's ready in the lobby."

The ninja grunted something in affirmation or dismissal and the mage couldn't tell which it was. Shrugging, (after all, if Kuro-puu wasn't hungry tonight it wasn't the end of the world by any stretch of the imagination) Fai left the door slightly ajar and made his way back down the stairs. Kurogane eyed the open door suspiciously at first, then thought better of getting up to close it, knowing that it was one of the wizard's tricks to get him to move. Instead, he returned to his musings on the weapon.

There was nothing physically wrong with the blade, nothing askew with the handle, the edge was sharp. Yet, despite all this, it all seemed...wrong. Kurogane had first suspected that the entire thing was just another piece of junk--one more crappy sword he'd run across in some run-down hell-hole of a world-- but, upon close inspection, everything was in working order. Even the kid could wield it without mortally wounding himself. Which was pretty good for Syaoran.

The question still remained. The doubt lingered.

The door creaked open.

Irritated at the absolute lack of knocking or any other polite way of letting a person know that one was coming in, Kurogane shot the door a sharp look, tilting the chair so that his fingers were within easy reach of the hilt. Sure, it wasn't the cream of the crop as far as swords went, but he'd deal with it. For now, at least.

"Kurogane-san? Fai-san says you're not eating again..."

Kurogane "tch"ed under his breath and rolled his eyes. Honestly, was a moment here and there to oneself too much to ask from hyper wizard, amnesiac girl, and awkward boy? He knew, irrefutably _knew_ that the mage had had something to do with this, sending Syaoran up as another means to get him to dinner. Next thing you knew, Sakura would probably be clamoring up, tray with dinner in hand, as a last resort.

Syaoran pushed the door the rest of the way open and walked inside.

"Have a seat, kid. I've got a riddle for you."

Obedient as ever, Syaoran sat.

"So," Kurogane began, "when a swordsman begins to lack proficiency at his art, is it the fault of the sword or the fault of he who wields it?"

Syaoran bit his lip, thinking. Then, "Does it matter?"

Kurogane could have screamed. _Of course it mattered, idiot! What if I lost control of it for a moment, even a fraction of a second, when I was attacking an enemy? Would it matter then? Do you know what people it would be most likely to strike if it strayed from its course? You and the girl. How would you like that, Syaoran? You and your time-crossed love, gone in a heartbeat. Now tell me it's not important._

He instead leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. "Explain."

Syaoran, brow furrowed, took a breath, as if to illustrate the toil put into his thought.

"I mean that it depends on the situation. If the swordsman is tired or fails to keep up with his practicing, it's his own fault, obviously. If he'd just trained harder and with more dedication, things would be fine. However, if the sword is broken or defective, then the swordsman shouldn't blame himself for its incompetency." Syaoran's stomach rumbled loudly here, causing the boy to start and hastily apologize.

He made his excuses, went to the door, tried once more to convince Kurogane to go with him--to no avail-- and at last, disappeared down the flight of stairs.

The answer he'd given was satisfactory on its own, but utterly useless to the ninja. The sword contained no flaw, yet he had practiced every day, before the break of dawn, far earlier than his companions awoke, and still nothing. Desperate, though he would never admit it, he had put himself on one of the harder regimens from his training days in last ditch effort to produce some sign, anything, to affirm that he'd identified the problem and that it was being remedied. And still, nothing.

Thus far, they had been lucky. No attack had come, no mysterious man with a feather, no despot, no gang, just friendly villagers glad to point the travelers to the nearest inn and smithy. Tomorrow, though, later certainly, in some new world, they were bound to come across some malicious force. And what would he be able to do as they stepped back, confident, waiting for him to tear through the monster as he had done so many times before? What would their faces look like as they realized that they weren't as safe as they'd though they were?

And was it the sword, otherworldly and obscure, that clouded his mind and refused to mesh with that instinctual, spark-quick part of his mind?

Or was it he, broken from the loss of his best weapon, that could no longer perform his function?

Kurogane grabbed the sword from the table, opened the window, and climbed out onto the roof as he had done so many evenings before, forsaking dinner for the hope of an answer.

Hours later, Sakura tip-toed into the room, finding it dark and desolate with no hint of its occupant, and, shivering in the cool gust of the night wind, left a tray of food on the desk. She almost could have sworn she heard something from beyond the drapes as they blew in the breeze, but shook her head and retired to her room.


	18. Saa, he's run off with the girl!

Cattyfuzzy's comment inspired me to try and find this one again. It had been hanging around in my documents a long time, I guess... Well, regardless, the snow arc continues once more!

_Theme: snow arc! III_

* * *

"Yoo-hoo, Kuro-min! I'm over here now!"

"Dammit! I need more snowballs." Kurogane looked behind him, expecting to find a mountain of perfectly rolled snowballs, courtesy of Sakura. Sure, it was the only thing the girl had really been able to do, but still it provided an essential service. He hadn't been able to convince her to put rocks in the snowballs yet, though. Oh, he could just imagine Fai's face after getting hit with one of...

"What the--?" Muttering irately at the cold winter air and at the stupid mage for dodging so well, he found no trace of the girl. Great. She probably fell asleep and had been buried by the snow again, waiting for him to dig her out a second time. He wished this didn't keep happening. One of these days, she'd be on her own and there wouldn't be anyone there to help her when she randomly fell asleep in inappropriate places. What would she do then?

Turning back to her, he was about to give her a severe tongue-lashing.

That was, until he saw a boy carrying a suspicious-looking, princess-shaped bundle away toward Fai's fort. He ran after him, brandishing the first weapon he could find: a really big stick.

"HEY! Stop stealing my team!"

Kurogane, when he chose, could appear very fearsome. On this particular occasion, drenched in ice, snow, and sweat, waving a massive branch and yelling at Syaoran at the top of his lungs, he was a force to be reckoned with. The boy nearly dropped her in his haste, before being pelted by a flurry of rock-imbedded snowballs.

"Kurogane-san, cut that out! Ow!" Syaoran was not as good a dodger as Fai. Ha. A weak spot. "Can't you see that she's exhausted?" 

"No. She's not. She knows that she's a part of the team and that the team keeps working until its one purpose has been fulfilled. She said it herself. All for one and something else like that too." He glowered. "So, I'll give you another chance."

The stick twitched in his grasp. Still, Syaoran knew no fear.

"I'll never leave Sakura-san!"

Aww.

"Fine. More team-mates for me then."

And with that, he hauled the both of them off to his snow fort. That magician was going down.


	19. On a Firefly's Wing

_Prompt: Summer_

Hope you guys like this! If you feel like giving suggestions, just let me know and I'll do my best to include them!

A little KuroTomo in this one, and more on the serious side, but I'll try to intersperse serious and funny.

-- cy.

* * *

The fireflies wing by overhead merrily, as if they sense it's a festival night, too. 

It's been around a week that they first came to this world and after sorting out a minor dispute at an ice cream stand (Mokona evidently had been hungry that day), the residents had been welcoming and kind. Tonight was their yearly celebration of summer's eve and all were invited.

Lanterns cloud the streets and line the walkways with pale globes of orange, red, and yellow light. But, pacing the riverbank, is a figure that does not join in the holiday.

Kurogane doesn't want to have to deal with the crowds tonight, and knows that should he decide to rejoin his companions, he'll find them drinking (most likely Fai's fault, no, scratch that, _definitely_ Fai's fault), which is something he'd rather not put up with. At least, not on a night like this.

He can't quite place it, but it reminds him of something. Maybe it's that way with everyone here. Maybe it's why they stay.

He looks up.

The sky above, beyond the bright lanterns and past the reaches of the revelry, is a dark canopy of stars, almost overwhelmed by the spectacle below. The object of Kurogane's attention, however, is not the celebration, but the fireflies.

They'd tell stories about the fireflies, how came to be called midnight's envoys, and say that if you whispered a message to your love to one of them, they would fly away to deliver it, no matter how far or how long it took them to get there. Kurogane, naturally, thought this was all nonsense. Whoever heard of a bug flying across space and time?

Still, he holds out his hands and, almost as though it had been trained to do so, a firefly alighted on his fingertips. The villagers had probably kept up the tradition so long that the insects grew to comply tamely. He wonders at the trust, how the delicate frame of a creature waits in his grasp patiently for instructions.

He snorts. What, like it was waiting for him to confess everything to it? Like he'd talk to a bug about something like that!

Opening his fingers wider, a blatant invitation, he gruffs, "Get lost."

It remains there. Waiting.

He frowns.

Kurogane of Shirasagi Castle does not like impudent fireflies. He shakes his hands with a hair more force in an attempt to dislodge the clinging bug. It isn't flustered.

Exasperated, he stares at it, and gently, he cups his hands around it, seeing the yellowish bulb of its tail flicker on in the darkness the cavern of his hands makes. He looks around to make sure that no one's around--not Sakura, not Mokona, not Fai (he checks twice for Fai; the mage is tricky) -- and whispers lowly to it for a moment.

Once he spreads his hands this time, the firefly races off. Speeding upwards and across, it fades into the night sky as Kurogane watches below. He thinks that he can spot it one more, but it becomes just another star, twinkling the darkness above. Allowing himself a brief smile after it, he starts to head back to the town to pick up whatever's left of his group. He sighs.

It's a long way back to Nihon.


	20. Out of Sight

I just went through and read a ton of Tsubasa manga and I'm feeling really inspired now so, I thought I'd post a little thing on my take of one of the scenes. This one has **spoilers for Chapitre 121 **and on, so be forewarned.

Apart from that, enjoy and suggestions or comments are always appreciated.

_Prompt: Sight_

* * *

As far as Kurogane was concerned, the kid could get lost. 

And, as far as he could tell, the kid was doing just that.

He couldn't understand why or how Sakura had tried to chase after him. He'd turned traitor on them: the ninja had seen it happen before back in Nihon in the princess's army. Sometimes the only reason that the betrayers had joined in the first place was their assassination plots, others were corrupted. It didn't worry him unduly then. They were found out, long before they got to their goal and, in all probability, preventing from completing it.

Permanently.

It was one of those little things he took care of around Shirasaki.

This, though, with Syaoran's abrupt shift--he should have seen it coming, he should have seen it and prevented it, just like all those times before--bothered him. Had he really gone that soft, been so immune and unreceptive to the signals that had been coming his way since Recort? The kid had danger written all over him, and what had Kurogane done? Blindly just let it happen.

And now, look:

The princess was clinging to the boy's leg, or any part of him that she could hold onto, hoping to restrain him, keep from from making his march of destruction through other worlds. They all knew it would come to that. With that eye and that sword, how could it come to anything less?

He couldn't believe he'd gotten the notion to train him, take him under his wing, and show the kid how to wield a sword. There had been no students for him in Nihon: he had refused to take any, whether out of a desire not to be plagued by them, or not wanting any of them to surpass their master, he was unsure. He knew now, though, that he would have to consider his next choice of pupil more carefully, if he ever decided on one again.

Which was unlikely, considering that every nerve in his body was telling him to kill the kid before he could escape.

Kurogane gave the body in his arms a hard look.

Bloody, mangled around the edges, with bite marks (the ninja tried to resist the shiver, kept telling himself that he'd seen worse, done much, much worse) around one eye and a weak lid, crusted with dark brown and scarlet, concealing a hole where a blue eye should have been, it was sticky and warm to the touch. A fluttering, faltering heartbeat reminded him that it wasn't over yet.

He deposited the magician on the ground, absently hoping that it wouldn't do anything worse, but also knowing that there really wasn't much worse that could come after this, and made his way over to the struggling pair.

Sakura's grip was weakening. He could see it a mile away. All that sleep hadn't done a thing for her strength; it was clear that if Syaoran really wanted to be free of his attachment, he could brush her off and have done.

"Give it back, you thieving bastard." Voice low and deadly, Kurogane levelled his hand on his sword, resisting the temptation to slice the kid up right there and remove what he needed by force. Yes, it was strange that the change had happened so quickly. Yes, there was probably a reason...but reason wasn't enough to quell the furor that compelled him to fight.

Syaoran shoved the princess at him. Catching her deftly but still keeping a hand poised to attack, Kurogane spoke again. "Not her, I want that new acquisition of yours. It belongs to somebody else. _Or don't you care about what happens to your friends anymore?_"

Tossing a glance back at the enervated mage, the kid said, simply, "His other eye might still be useful."

"Like hell I'd let you near him." It made him sick, seeing that unnatural, icy blue gleaming at him from Syaoran's face, "Give him back his eye right now."

_And tell me how I could have been so blind as to not see through you._

The kid made no move to comply; to the contrary, a swirl of wind whipped around him, causing his body to start to vanish. "There are other feathers that I must find and this eye proves useful."

Sakura made grasping motions at his shirt, his sleeves, anything, with tears falling from her eyes as the winds of the transport spell drove her back. Kurogane bit back a growl of rage and frustration, instead gave Syaoran one of his deadliest, most maniacal smiles.

"I never want to see your face again, kid, but it looks like I'm going to have to. Keep in mind, though: next time you don't do what I tell you, I'll crave that eye right out of your head."

Sakura gasped and sobbed into his shoulder as the last wisps of wind fell away. Then, she, very quietly and suddenly, slipped into unconsciousness.

Kurogane, meanwhile, found himself with a sleepy princess and an invalid mage and very many flights of stairs to climb back up. Catching sight of Syaoran's opponent (who curiously looked a lot like him, save for the malicious bat plastered on his chest), he motioned for him to come over. What the hell. He could always dispatch him if he had to.

The boy came, surprisingly.

Swinging Sakura over his shoulder and gingerly lifting Fai in his arms, still careful not to gaze at the magician's torn eye for long, he instructed, "Go get some help. Right away."

And with that, the boy sped off. Kurogane belatedly realized that the new kid probably didn't have a clue where he was going, but he'd taken the right stairway up, so it was a good start. With any luck, someone would come.

He hoped it would be soon.

For, until they did, the ninja would take part in one of the jobs he never could have seen himself doing before being sent on this maddening trip: carrying the bodies.


	21. The Great Ninja Savior of Cats

It was the part of morning that was just starting to change into afternoon when Kurogane heard the sound.

He was tired, and really feed up with all the waiting they'd had to do. Sure, the occasional stake-out was fine, but he was really hating the long nights spent without a speck of action. Night after night, they hid by that castle, the one with the ghost princess rumored to be in it, and night after night, they were always disappointed. Bleary-eyed and badly in need of some alone time, away from the mage who couldn't seem to stop taking (even when they were supposed to be quiet), and the princess who always seemed to fall asleep (and forced him, inadvertently, to carry her back to their rooms).

He missed the thrill of battle, that moment of pure ecstasy when an opponent burst into view, his for the taking. This sort of living...well, it didn't even come close to that. For now, he was just stuck.

Hands spaded in the pockets of his warm overcoat (stupid weather, it had never been this weird in Nihon), he began to cross through the village square. As he passed the grocer's and deli shop, he sighed. His heart just wasn't in this any more.

Sakura had won them enough money to let them last comfortably for a few more days, which was good. The townspeople who had challenged her at cards were shocked to discover that she won every game, and were wary of playing against her again. Kurogane rubbed his forehead, trying to force himself awake. It was this damn weather. Back in Nihon, he surely would have been able to stay up for many more nights than this.

All this snow was making him want to sleep.

Yawning, he creaked the door of the bakery open. They were running out of supplies at their room, and since the tavern below their quarters didn't serve food at the odd hours they had become accustomed to waking up at for their jaunts, they'd been buying food on their own. He spent a few long, soporific moments staring at the breads in the case before a baker came to him to sak what he wanted.

Baguette in hand, he turned to go, hearing the tingle of the bell above the store entrance once more.

"Aw, I'm hungry." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a trio of street scamps, eagerly eyeing the merchandise. The baker seemed none too pleased.

"Out, out, you little knaves!" He cried, brandishing a broom at them. Kurogane cocked an eyebrow as they ran out of the shop. The baker noticed this and shook his head.

"I do apologize that you had to see that, sir. Last time those children came through here, I lost two of my freshest loaves and I won't have it happen again, what with all the sickness spreading amongst the young ones." He sighed. Kurogane nodded, too tired to really put together any coherent response, and exited.

And then, he heard it.

Crying.

Trying to keep a collected face, even though the sound of it was starting to drive him nuts, he quickly found the source. A young girl, bundled up in a frilly pink cloak, was sobbing into her muff on the ground.

"Hey." He said. "What's wrong?"

The girl swallowed, and looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Kurogane tried to give her a comforting smile, but this only made him look like a gaunt ghast about to spirit her away. A whimper escaped her lips.

"Come on already," he said more irritably, crouching down beside her. Damn it, he was no good with kids. This was a job for that idiot mage, not him. Kurogane would even bet that Fai would have some puppets or something on hand to amuse the kid while he calmed her down.

Then anger surged through him. Well, if that joke of a magician could amuse small children, then he, the most feared ninja Nihon had to offer, could surely do the same. The girl began to cry again, clutching her muff to her desperately, and Kurogane applied his newfound resolve to the situation.

"Talk to me. What's making you cry?"

She took a deep breath, and then blurted:

"They stole my kitty! I just got her today and they took her from me!"

Kurogane frowned. Theft of an animal? This was indeed grave. When food was scarce in Nihon, there had been heavy fines for robbery of grain and livestock. Even when Shirasaki needed to requisition food, it always repaid the people it borrowed supplies from with interest. The cat might have been a gift from her parents, something to calm their daughter in times of woe. He remembered all too clearly what gifts like that could mean to a child.

An action of this sort was inexcusable.

He knelt before her, fist above his heart in solemn vow. "Then I promise you I shall return your cat to you."

She clasped her hands together, snow settling sparklingly on her face and hair. "Really? You will?"

He bowed his head in affirmation. Maybe he was just so exhausted he'd agree to anything to cut down on noise so he could rest undisturbed, he mused. The girl gave him a faint smile. "Thank you! The meanies that took her ran off down that alley!" Her features dissolved into worry once more. "Oh no! What if they're doing mean things to my kitty? What if she's afraid?" Tears sprang back up, and with one more assurance that he would return the animal to her, he departed down the alley.

It didn't take him long to find the culprits.

They were leaning up against a wall, muching on a loaf of bread, and talking about what they planned to do with their ill-gotten gains.

"I say we play hacky-sack with this thing. That'll teach her to stick her tongue out at us!"

"But I don't know how to play that game! And it's a cute cat..."

"Aw, come on!" said another, snatching the beast and making to run back down the alley with it. Suddenly, he found himself up against a black-clad wall of ninja. It was quite disconcerting.

"You have something that does not belong to you. Give it back without hassle," he said, a grin sweeping diabolically across his features, "and I won't be forced to make an example of you to other animal-thieving scum."

Perhaps he'd smiled a little _too_ diabolically (he'd really only expected them to sullenly hand it over and slouch away), he thought, because the gang of three dropped the cat to the ground like a hot coal and sprinted off over fences and crates, somehow managing to keep a hold of the warm bread. Kurogane sighed and hoped that the feline wasn't angry at being wet or dropped, and scooped the creature up in his arms. It was cold, but surprisingly placated.

Returning to the girl, he handed the cat over to its rightful owner. "It seems a little wet..." He began.

"Oh no, that will dry out just fine when we get her home! Thank you so much!" The girl said, hugging him with the cat tightly between them, squished against his legs. Kurogane was amazed. Why wasn't it striking out or clawing them? That had to be the calmest cat in existence. No wonder the girl had wanted it back so much. Surely, she had seen the value in having so peaceable a pet around her.

He nodded, watched as the girl went back home and shut the door behind her, safe from retaliation from the three he'd dispatched.

At last, finished with his good deeds, he headed back toward the inn, where he was greeted warmly by the innkeep.

"Good show by you back there! Sophia is my niece's girl, and she loves that little kitten of hers. You almost wouldn't believe it was a stuffed animal, the way she treats it! Those three, though, they're trouble. This town needs to..."

Kurogane nodded to the man's suggestions, sleep seeping its way through the warm air of the tavern and welling up around him. If he could just get to his bed...

Soon, other patrons began chiming in on the state of the town, and amidst a rallying call to reform the streets, Kurogane snuck away into his chambers, while a voice called after him that their dinner was on the house. On entering, Kurogane found his bed, not even bothering to undress save shucking off the coat damp with snow, and collapsed.

"Looks like that servant fellow of yours really does have a heart after all, doesn't he?" The innkeep said merrily to a man in a white coat. "And here we all were, thinking he was some heartless, ruthless guardian."

The man smiled mysteriously. "Kuro-bun has much more of a heart than a lot of people give him credit for. You'd be surprised."


	22. Maelstorm's Embrace

_Prompt:__Rain_**  
**

Just a short one this time, but more to follow! Thanks as always for reviews and suggestions!

--cy.

* * *

The rain pattered down the stone pillars adorned with gargoyles, catching in the trees, casting a gray sheen on the world. It soaked through banners, dowsed clothes carelessly left haning out to dry, and filled pots and pans outside.

A man sat atop one of the columns, a night black gargoyle himself, hid in the shade of a nearby tree. Water cascaded down his cloak, down the stones of the monument, down to the ground, where it swept away twigs, leaves, bubbling all the while.

Something rumbled overhead, and the figure glanced to either side of him, slowly, as though he were a part of the tree swaying in the sheets of rain coming down. He lifted a hand, and raindrops raced down it, pooling at a fingertip. When he went to draw back his cloak, the garment no longer repelled water as it had done, nor prevented the wetness from getting to its wearer's other clothes, but rather was suffocated with moisture, overfull and brimming so that it sent small streams of rainwater down his back when he moved.

And still, he waited, eyes closed in his weatherbeaten face, hair sloppily sopping drips down his shoulders, he waited.

The note had said that they would attack in the rain. And this, being one of the few rainy days they got, was bound to be it.

He curled his fingers back around his blade, cool and tempered by the onslaught of water. Sheets stormed down from the heaves, and, in the moment where the storm reached its height, he was certain of it--they would make their move.

Trees began to move oddly, not pushed and pounded by the downpour, but due to some other force. Just as he tensed his legs to spring, hands gripping the wetness out of the hilt of his sword, he heard them step right behind him.

He turned around, a whirlpool of droplets flying off him and careening into space, ready to rip his intruder into shreds and mingle their blood with the clear, cleansing rain when--

"Hi, Kuro-min! Dinner's getting cold so come in now, m'kay?"

Fai grinned, giving Kurogane a pat on the head. He instantly grimaced.

"Eugh, you're soaked, Kuro-pin! Dry off before you come in, or else you'll track this all over the house. Have you been hiding out in trees again or something? I'll have Sakura lay some fresh clothes out for you."

Kurogane sighed and angrily sheathed Sohi, wiping the water off the blade carefully before doing so.

He jumped down from the pillar and shook what he could of the water off him before walking through the grove and returning to the house, grumpily sploshing in every puddle he could find. How on earth did they expect him to keep in top form like this?

Stupid magician, he sulked. If he'd gotten one minute more, he would totally have eliminated those assassins.


	23. Kurogane, Do Your Best!

_Prompt: When?_

This is a just-for-fun chapter. I just beat Katamari Damacy yesterday, and was thrilled to discover that Katamari and Kurogane have the same number of syllables and sound vaguely alike. Then, it struck me: Kurogane playing Katamari. Thus, we have this fic. It's a kind of on the cracky side, but plays around with fun aspects of Kurogane's personality.

Hope you like it!

--cy.

* * *

Kurogane stretched, and walked into the living room. Somehow, the magician had been able to get the owners of the house to rent it to them while they went on vacation for a fairly reasonable price. It hadn't taken Sakura too many games at the pachinko machines to be able to pay the week's rent and set them up.

Yawning, he glared at the mage, who had just happily wished him a good morning.

"Remind me again when we're leaving this place."

Fai frowned. "Saa, Kuro-min, why can't you enjoy yourself for once? I told you, we found out that the feather's being transported from one high security facility to another later this week, so!" He grinned evilly (which on Fai, just made him look about as evil as a kid with a plan to sneak extras on dessert) and continued in a dramatic voice:

"We're going to rob a train! Ah, how exciting. But meanwhile, there's nothing to do except keep a low profile and relax."

Tsh. Relax.

Kurogane's scowl said as much.

"Kuro-bun, you've just got to let it go sometimes." Fai commented knowledgeably. The ninja gave him a questioning look, although whether it was to how Fai managed to get away with calling him strange nicknames all the time or to what he meant by his comment, it was hard to discern. Pegging it as the latter, Fai continued.

"You know, it's not healthy for you to be out there training all the time. You need to relax, too. Look at Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan," he gestured at the pair, who were riveted to a strange silver box. Sakura seemed to be squashing some plastic thing in her hands determinedly, tongue poking out of her mouth, as Syaoran watched and gave helpful comments.

Kurogane rolled his eyes. "They look like zombies."

Fai nodded enthusiastically. "That's the spirit, Kuro-ryon! Go be a zombie, too!"

And so, the ninja sat down between them, waiting for zombification to start. It didn't. Instead, he saw that the silver box had some sort of mirror device inside it, in which a little green thing was trying to push a very big ball.

"What's the point of this?" He asked, annoyed and confused all at the same time.

Sakura sighed, head down, as the screen went black and something happened. She turned to Kurogane ("Alright, Syaoran-kun, go get it!") and began to explain.

"It's called Katamari. There's this prince whose father destroyed all the stars, and now he's been charged with the task of making them all and putting them back in the sky. But to do this, he has to collect material for the stars by rolling everything up into a big ball. Syaoran'll show you how!"

And so, Kurogane watched. And learnt.

"So you're telling me this prince's father destroyed everything in the sky?" Kurogane said, as he waited for his turn. "The moon, too?"

Sakura thought a little bit. "I think so... Syaoran-kun, let's go check our constellations. ...Yup, the moon, too."

Deftly, Kurogane took the controller from the kid, a new drive spread across his features. This was personal. "Show me where to start."

"Well, a beginner level would be best..."

Within hours, Kurogane had mastered basic katamari skills (which was pretty impressive, given that he had never used a controller before, left alone play a video game, and Sakura and Syaoran still weren't completely sure that he knew that it was a game and not some smaller world that lived in the box), gotten the prince a rubber duck to wear around his waist, and was beginning to feel his thumbs ache. Syaoran was already nursing a nasty blister on his right thumb, but he was nowhere the swordsman Kurogane was, and nowhere near as used to rough grips. Kurogane smiled.

Fai came in later, while Sakura and Syaoran were outside getting ice cream as the sun set, and found himself staring down a ninja resolutely pounding the joysticks of the controller. He rolled his eyes.

"Kuro-run, when are you going to let the children have a turn again? They're the ones that showed you this game, after all, and you've been playing for hours."

Kurogane threw him a sideways glance and said in dire tones, "I'm busy. I'm making a new moon to put in the sky."

Fai shrugged. "Why bother?"

Eyes hardening, Kurogane tilted the controller to get a better angle. "It's the symbol of my country," he gritted. "And I want to prove to that bastard that he can't go destroying it without consequences." How could you explain patriotic pride to someone who just wanted to run away from everything, Kurogane thought derisively. Fai just wouldn't understand these things.

The magician cocked his head, intrigued. "Who's destroying things, again?"

"That king. Big and purple. Thinks he's so tough, always saying he can do it better. Well, dammit, I'd like to see him try. Now, leave me alone, I need to concentrate." His katamari was about two hundred meters wide, whatever the hell that meant, and he found himself able to pick up these strange white boxes that screamed when he touched them. It was a little weird, but it was for the moon's sake, so to hell with screaming things. If that was supposed to be intimidating, he wasn't shaken.

So, Fai did as he was told. Shrugging and sighing, he closed the door to the living room, knowing that any further entreaties to Kurogane on the children's behalf would be useless...until the ninja either completed his goal or finally exhausted himself into sleep in the effort.

At last, some time in the dark hours of the night, Kurogane was victorious.

He watched the world spin, and some weird names go by, and then had immense fun rolling up the world (he hoped that the countries that stuck to the katamari didn't contain the one that they were in, but it didn't seem like it). He didn't see Nihon's name in the list of countries he'd gotten, so all was well.

Just as he was about the leave, he saw a young boy and girl appear on the moon. The boy said that this was great fun but that if the katamari for the moon were bigger his parents could come.

Kurogane stopped dead in his tracks.

A boy, separated from his parents for what ostensibly seemed like an eternity. That was a feeling he knew all too well. He grabbed the controller once more. No one should have to suffer that, even if that family had never really made sense to him, or the boy hadn't really been trained in swordplay, and even if the girl was a little weird with her connection to the cosmos.

The boy had wanted to become something called an astronaut, something that his father would teach him to be. Fond memories of his own childhood crept into Kurogane's mind, countless outings with his father and training sessions to learn his skills and swordplay.

If there was anything he wanted to prevent (besides harm to Her Majesty, Princess Tomoyo), it was for a child to be forever separated from their parents.

He knew what he must do.

At the ripe time of six in the morning, Fai came downstairs to make coffee. He found Kurogane asleep on a beanbag chair, controller clutched in his hands, and the TV screen reflecting ghostly white light on the man dozing in front of it. Covering the ninja with a blanket, Fai tried to figure out what had kept Kurogane so occupied as he looked at the screen.

On it, four people-- a girl, boy, mother, and father-- were all waving down at him happily from the top of a golden moon.


	24. Two Squares in a Circular World

_Prompt: Square_

Time for Kurogane and Fai! This is **really spoilerific, **so much so that you probably shouldn't even go near it if you're not caught up on everything that's out in the Japanese form of the manga. But yeah, I haven't written serious!Fai for a while, and felt like doing it.

--cy.

* * *

Fai sat alone with Kurogane at a table of the house, and sighed. The ninja looked over questioningly.

Raising his hand to brush away a strand of hair, the magician spoke.

"Do you ever get the feeling that we're sort of just squares?"

Kurogane was about to comment that both he and the mage looked like perfectly normal human beings, when Fai decided it was better to explain himself.

"I mean, do you get the sense that we both don't fit in with the world?"

Kurogane thought this over. He was a former member of Princess Tomoyo's ninja guard, whose right arm was made out of steel and strange metal wires. It was pretty useful, but he wasn't exactly received as a run-of-the-mill denizen of Shirasaki any more. He sort of doubted that he'd ever really been one t begin with. His companion was a wizard who didn't practice practical magic, had one of his eyes eaten, and had recently been turned into a vampire to save his life. Okay, maybe they weren't normal, strictly speaking.

The ninja shrugged. "We seem alright in this company."

And that was true. They had a blind-eyed, occasionally cannibalistic boy and a sleepy princess who talked to plants and inanimate objects, so they didn't stand out too much.

"But that's exactly what I'm talking about!" Fai interjected, throwing his hands up. "It seems like we're the only people who don't change in each world we visit, like your princess," he mentioned, recalling the incident in Piffle, "Or that don't have clones of ourselves walking around and pretending to be us."

He crossed his arms, and frowned, which didn't look very serious.

Kurogane shrugged. "So? You've got a twin." Well, he _used_ to have one, really. It had been pretty emotional, but the magician had at last been able to lay his twin to rest. Fai considered, silently and then responded.

"Saa, but that's not the same thing. With Fai and I...it was like we knew close to what each other was thinking, but not sharing each other's memories, but even then! Twins are more common than clones."

Kurogane didn't understand why this was such a big deal. "So, what's your point? I've never had a twin, or a clone, or anyone else who looks like me, and I don't feel anything weird about it." Personally, he liked having just him around. If there were too many more of him, he'd probably have to kill some off. But, considering how well-trained they'd probably be, it would be a challenge. He grinned, and absently thought that that would be a good way to test out his skills.

Shaking his head, Fai inquired, "Really? You don't feel weird at all? Even though it seems like throughout all the worlds, we're the only two original people out there?"

"Original?" Kurogane repeated, as though tasting the word. He wasn't so sure about them being the only ones that didn't have copies--he hadn't seen another person like the space-time witch or Fei Wong Reed, so there were at least two more than them. But being "original"?

"What's the big deal? So you're not like everyone else because you're not repeated all over each world. Personally, I don't think I could stand running into more of you each time we travel, even if they're different people. They'd all probably end up being just as annoying. And you having a clone is not something I want to be around for."

Fai considered. "Saaa, but what if Fei Wong has clones of us when we finally get to him?"

Kurogane shivered. Fighting and dispatching his own clone would be cool, but seeing another Fai? Ugh. He was starting to get used to having one magician around, now that Fai had finally gotten through most of the baggage that he'd been carrying around with him. More angsty wizards to cause him woe and misfortune? Absolutely not. There were only so many limbs he was willing to part with.

"What's so bad about being the only ones that are us anyway? There's a lot less confusion." Kurogane responded, once the horrors of an army of cloned Fai's had feld his mind.

The magician mused on this for a while, and grinned.

"Alright. I suppose if I'm going to be singled out with you, it can't be that bad."

Kurogane rolled his eyes. Honestly. The way that mage was talking, you'd think this meant the world to him, having someone to be with.

But, he thought as he flexed the mechanical digits of his right hand, maybe that was just what it was after all.


	25. Where the World Takes Us

_Prompt: Drink_

More Fai and Kuro!

* * *

The cut was neat, orderly, about as unmessy as you can make a gash wound cut by a sword. Kurogane had to hand to himself: he was pretty good when it came to handling swords.

Blood trickled steadily down his arm, a red river arching off into lines and veins, like divergent trails on a map, all ending at different destinations.

He looked over at the magician who was eying the cut eagerly.

Ever since the vampire transformation, Kurogane had become less and less fond of these feeding, or rather drinking, sessions. He'd heard people tell tales of vampires in his country, and as he traveled, Fai had talked to him about various types of vampire literature that he seemed to come across.

It was odd, Kurogane remembered, flipping through some of the books. A lot of them made it seem like feeding a vampire was some sort of moment of religious ecstasy, or the forming of some pact between a human and an evil being. They didn't talk about how blood vessels have a tendency to spurt when cut, or how the fluid has a predilection to spread everywhere and get all over everything, or how uninvigorating it was.

He glanced at Fai, drinking from the wound.

It was really like having a giant piranha attached to your arm, he concluded. A giant, friendly, magical piranha. He frowned at the analogy.

"The witch says that as soon as we get your eye back, you'll be able to stop having to do this," he commented. It tended to get sort of awkward, one of them relaxing and the other feasting hungrily on his arm, so Kurogane occasionally threw out a remark. "That'll be nice."

Fai drew back, sated, and took a cloth he reserved for that purpose from his pockets to wipe off his lips.

"Do you really mind so much?" He asked, innocently. Or, well, as innocently as a vampire wiping blood off his lips could get.

"Well, it's not like you can come back and stay with me in Nihon."

It was pretty true. He had duties to attend to, and a constant drain on his blood supply wasn't going to be good for him to stay on top of his duties.

"Besides," Kurogane continued, "didn't you say that you wanted to travel around all the worlds that there were?" It had been out of necessity at the time, as Fai's old lord, Ashura-ou, had been haunting his former world, but now the ninja wondered how much the magician's plans had changed.

Fai shrugged. "I guess so. I'm not sure what I really want to do, but..." He gave it some thought, and then a smile lit up his face. "Why not? Travelling around place to place is fun! I like getting to see all these different people and wear different clothes--" he cut himself off, something evidently on his mind.

Kurogane sighed, knowing what he would have to say.

"Yeah, yeah, you can come visit. I think those kids would be heartbroken if they didn't see you sometimes, too."

He hoped the mage didn't stay too long, though. He had a feeling Fai knew more about what was going on between him and Tomoyo-hime than he wanted to admit.


	26. A Dragon and a Phoenix

_Prompt: Birth_

Thank you for all your wonderful reviews and suggestions! I'm trying to complete my table for Kurogane on fanfic100--it's a challenge to write one hundred fanfics that I want to finish before the end of summer-- and any ideas come in handy. My brain sometimes feels like it's been through an ice cream churner when I start to write...ugh...

--cy.

* * *

What you had to understand about Kurogane was his capacity for bringing together opposites, and his tendencies to go through birth and rebirth while he dealt death mercilessly to those who were brave enough to be his enemies.

When the House of Suwa fell and the lordly holdings he was born into fell along with them, he made himself into something greater than what he had been, eradicating monsters that had plagued the land he'd grown up in. From the ashes of his old life, he rose through the ranks of the Shirasaki ninjas, until none could touch him. When banished, he learnt; when forced to make hard choices, he made them, always the dragon unrelenting, always the phoenix rising from the dust of its past.

He was always a man of opposites: water and fire, despair and hope, death and rebirth.


	27. Last Obstacles to Surpass

_Prompt: Touch_

I always wanted to write about what challenges the group's going to have to face before they get to Fei Wong Reed, and I was a little upset when I realized that I'll finish writing all these stories before the end of Tsubasa. (Though, that probably won't stop me from writing about it anyway...) I thought, if this happens, I have to write about it. So, I just wrote about it.

It, surprisingly, doesn't contain any spoilers. This is all just fun conjecture on my part. But it would be awesome if it turned out like this.

--cy.

* * *

The kid scuttled over the bricks, dashing to the other side of the room before the spell started to take effect. Kurogane, though, wasn't so lucky.

He gasped, as he found that he could no longer move his legs, let alone _feel _his legs, and that he seemed to be effectively rooted to the floor. Pulling at his tighs, trying to wrench them free, his fingers, tight with nerves, dug into his flesh to no avail. His feet had already turned to stone. Blood left his complexion when he came to the unhappy conclusion.

He was stuck.

Syaoran, realizing what was happening, was about to move back across the floor when Kurogane shouted to him not to. It didn't look like the spell had worn off the tiles yet, and besides, he said with a rueful grin, it certainly didn't look like there was much help for him now. The petrification was already spreading up his calves and didn't seem to be lessening.

It really didn't feel that bad, not good, just like nothing. Like his legs from the calf down had both fallen asleep--not pain, or pins and needles, but rather a sense of nonfeeling, like the affected areas just had ceased to exist any more.

He saw something weakening in the boy's face, and knew he had to stop it. If the kid was going to be strong enough to defeat Fei Wong, then he'd need to get over this. The magician had already gotten caught in the first of the traps they'd run across, sealed in a shard of ice, unmoving. They'd tried to get him out, but no dice. It dawned on Kurogane that the kid's facing Fei Wong alone might have been the original intention.

"Look, kid, you can't just give up now, that's like telling him to his face that he's won."

Syaoran looked up at him hopelessly.

"But Kurogane-san, I can't just let you and Fai--"

"Tsh. To hell with me and Fai," Kurogane responded, as the stone barked up his stomach and torso. He wondered offhand whether his heart would stop once the stone covered it. Blood pounded more furiously through his chest as though in a desperate effort to stop it, to disprove the thing. Damn it, there was nothing he could do. Nothing but...

"We both knew what we were getting into from the start. What's really important is that you save that princess of yours. You got that, kid?" He asked.

Syaoran nodded, trademark determination washing over his face.

"Kurogane-san..."

"Hey," he rasped, as stone crept up his arms. "Did I train you to hesitate when something important's at stake?"

Syaoran shook his head. Kurogane felt cold, so cold, like his head was floating on a sea of nothingness...

"Then get going. After you've got this under control, worry about getting us out. We trust you, kid."

Once that was said, the greatest ninja Nihon had to offer gave his pupil one of the rarest things in the world: a true smile.

"Go get those bastards."

And with that, the stone closed over his face and froze it just like that, smiling, in a cast of grey marble.

Syaoran stood for a long moment, staring at his former mentor, then, turning on his heel with resolve etched into his face and fire in his eyes, walked onward to Fei Wong Reed's chambers, where he would put an end to this dream, once and for all.


	28. Kudan Pride

_Prompt: Parents_

Thank you all for the prompts--I'll start incorporating them gradually, as I write. Here's something I was going to post yesterday, but forgot. This also marks a crucial point in the life of this drabble series, when the number of hits it's gotten has gone OVER NINE THOUSAND!

Sorry, I had to do it. Anyway, thank you for all the reading, reviews, suggestions-- and enjoy.

--cy.

* * *

And here he was, thinking all this time that being in the Hashin Republic or whatever was going to suck.

His Kudan wasn't something to scoff at, and something that he took great delight in showing off. The dragon unfurled its wings about him majestically, daring any of his attackers to come and get it. Kurogane liked this guy. He understood how to get things done.

But the best part had come when the creature had turned itself into a sword for him.

_A sword_, he'd thought, as he'd tentatively taken ahold of it, _made out of dragon?_

He grinned dangerously at the punks who swarmed around him.

Oh hell yes.

His parents would be so proud.


	29. There's No Accounting For It

_Prompt: Taste_

* * *

"Ugh, Kuro-pin! Your clothes look horrible! We have to get you some new ones!"

Kurogane glanced down at his outfit to see what was so offensive. Sure, there were a few rips and tears from when the arrows had started to rain down on them, yeah, and maybe a swatch of fabric had been torn in his efforts to hide behind a tree and sneakily dispose of the archer, but there was nothing really wrong with them. It wasn't possible to keep clothes perfect all the time. No one could live like that.

"Uh, Kurogane-san...I think I'm going to have to agree with Fai. Those are looking a little beat."

Beat? Ha. The kid hadn't been in enough swordfights to see what clothes looked like when you wore them out. Threads, Syaoran. Not a pretty sight. These were practically immaculate.

He waved their comments about his wardrobe off. The pork bun covered its nose. Kurogane was surprised it even had a one. He was about to make a remark to that effect when Sakura broke in.

"Ohmygosh, Kurogane-san, is that blood?"

He checked. Nah, if it was, it was somebody else's. He shrugged.

"It's probably mud." Running through the rain on wet terrain will down that. You were bound to get a little muddy now and then. It just showed that you were doing your job, that you weren't slacking off all day, and that you'd seen some action and come out okay. Back at Shirasaki, clothes like this would have earned him wide-eyed stares, nods of approval, and envious glances.

"Mud?" Fai exclaimed, and hastily began hauling him, clothes and all, off to the bathroom to get washed off.

Tsh. Kurogane scowled. There was no accounting for taste.


	30. A Place to Be

_Prompt: Home and Homesickness_

Kudos to SnowsShadows for help with the prompt! Thanks as always with the help and reviews!

--cy.

* * *

You can't just call it home without having a good reason, too. He sulked, sitting in his corner, while the others slept. You had to have a much better reason than kjust the fact that you came from there to call a place home.

The navy blue veil of midnight had crept over the sky of the Hanshin Republic, stars poking through like holes in the fabric. They had settled in for the night at some crazed man's house, who had explained everything to them using puppets and strange diagrams.

Kurogane had still been hoping at that point that Tomoyo would call him back, that he would find out that all this had just been one big misunderstanding, or that she would have found herself in such dire straits without him that she would rescind the curse. But, apparently not.

Apparently, Shirasaki didn't rely on his being there to operate and to keep its occupants safe. Other ninjas could replace him and take over his guard duties just as well. Granted, there would be a lot more of them than there had been of him, so he supposed that was something to be proud of.

The night eased on, and he waited, a black mass of cloaks and armor, in a shadowy corner while the others slept.

Tsh. These idiots hadn't even thought to post a night guard. How stupid could you be?

They'd all been taking about their home worlds, the countries that they had come from before they were snatched up and forced to come here. Kurogane frowned, eying the magician who said that he'd come alone from his world, of his own free will. What sort of person would want to leave the place they came from? Who didn't want some place to go back to?

He sighed, remembering. The darkness made the memories clearer.

He'd never been one for vacations, not since he came to the Shirasaki palace to train as Tomoyo's guard. Vacations were when you stopped work, went back home to see your family, eat the kinds of things you liked, and catch up on the goings on of your old friends. People like Souma took vacations, people who had some place to return to.

Kurogane supposed that wasn't fair.

Yeah, he had some place he could go back to. Suwa hadn't ceased to exist, just the part of it that had meant home to him. He made treks out there every so often, if only not to let the memories fade and to let the occasional, foolish monster know that the master of Suwa still protected his land. But there was nothing there for him any more. Even when he went to give offerings to the spirits of his parents, their graves were near the palace, in places of honor.

Had Shirasaki been a home for him, he wondered?

It had been a place for him to dedicate the rest of his days, to live out his promise to protect things, destroy monsters and men that were monsters, and come to terms with the monster that he'd become himself. It was a workplace, not somewhere where he'd ever want to walk in and start talking about his feelings (not that he ever really felt the inclination to do so anyway) or get chummy with any other of the residents.

But being away from it made him wonder...

This place, this Hashin, Hansho, whatever-- it wasn't the same. Nothing seemed welcoming or familiar about it. And these people--not the kind of party he'd have picked; it didn't seem like any one of them was really skilled with weaponry, and that sleeping girl was bound to be a problem, dying all the time and all.

He sighed, and pulled his legs closer to him in the shadows. Maybe Nihon in its entire had been his home, his place in the world. Maybe where he really belonged was on the tops of roofs, perched and waiting like a bird of prey for those that would harm what he sought to protect.

Abruptly, he got up, went out the window, and climbed the railings soundlessly to reach the roof. He was testing a theory. The night wasn't still: shapes and lights moved through the city, piercing the darkness around him, and the noise of people awake at ungodly hours and doing whatever you could do at one in the morning echoed across the space.

Nope. Guess he was wrong, then.

It wasn't the same at all.


	31. Rumor is a Bird with a Thousand Eyes

_Prompt: He_

Full Chapter Title: **Rumor is a Bird with a Thousand Eyes and a Thousand Tongues**

The title comes from the Aeneid, somewhere in Book IV, when rumors are starting to spread about Dido and Aeneas. I thought it fit the piece pretty well.

* * *

"Did you hear what _he_ did last week?"

"No, I only knew about the gardener's shed--"

"This is much worse. He..."

People don't like to talk about him using his first name, like he's some sort of malignant spirit that appears when you call it. He finds it funny, since half the time he'd performing these "atrocious" deeds by which his name (or the lack of it) gets its bad reputation is when he's out saving their skins, while they sleep peacefully in the dead of night.

Speakers and gossipers hush as he walks past. He used to give them dirty looks, because he knows what they're talking about, but now doesn't. He finds that that makes them more scared of him, silent and uncaring, than they used to be.

"They say that if you look in his eyes, then he..."

"Oh! How could Tomoyo-hime retain such a person if he could do things like that?"

"I heard he's under a magic spell, and that the princess has special wards to keep him bound at all times."

"So he really _is_ like a demon..."

He strides on, paying no heed to the wake he leaves behind. Let them wonder, he thinks to himself, sweeping his black cloak across the stone floor. Let them wonder just how much a monster he is and just how much he can do.

They'll always come up short.


	32. Year of the Dragon

_Prompt: New Year_

* * *

A dragon marched proudly through the streets of the city, resplendent in all its glory. The roads and ways had been garlanded with lanterns, glowing balls of light driving back the darkness, as people cheered it on from the sides of the roads, clamoring to get closer and see the spectacle.

A young boy, eyes lit with the fires of the holiday, rushed to the balcony. His mouth spread into a slow, rare smile as he looked down at the goings-on.

"Come on, Tomoyo!" He called back into the room, as a young girl followed him.

She smiled at him, taking so much fun from this. "Have you never seen a New Year's Parade before?"

He rolled his eyes. "Of course I have. Just not...this big."

Suwa's celebrations had been pretty big, but nowhere near the scale of Nihon's, let alone Shirasaki's. Remembering his mother and father welcoming the new year in, all the traditions, and making sure that the right spirits were invited in and let out made him feel a pang of despair. It was times like these, happy times, when the fact that he would never see them again hit him the hardest.

Somehow, Tomoyo knew. She pulled his sleeve, jarring him from the memory, and pointed to dancers coming along, myraid colors swirling about them as they welcomed in the next year's animal, the Dragon.

"Look, that's your family's symbol, right?"

Kurogane smiled down at the lights and figures.

"Yeah."

She watched his face for a while, then replied. "That's good. It's going to be a good year for you, then."

And, as they watched the parade pass by, he couldn't help but think that he was having the best part of it right now.


	33. It's Honestly Not So Bad This Way

_Prompt: Fixed_

Some **spoilers** here! I think for stuff that happened a little beyond_ chapitre 180_ or so, so make sure you're all caught up before reading this one!

Whew. This is one of the scenarios I imagine happening when Kurogane finally gets back to Nihon. Yeah, it's overflowing with fluff. Thanks for the reviews and suggestions! I'll pick up on some of the ones I got, I'm just getting out the batch of stories I had sitting in my documents beforehand.

--cy.

* * *

"Remind me not to piss you off next time." Kurogane said bluntly. "That took way too long to get back from."

Tomoyo jumped slightly and glanced behind her, seeing her ninja appear as though from nowhere. Which was pretty odd, he thought, considering that she saw the future and all.

Or, not any more, he remembered. She'd given that up, traded it away to the witch, in order that she would bring them here after Celes, or Valeria, whatever that damn place had been. Hell, he recalled, she'd even kept the actual Ginryuu for him, after all these years, when he'd had to give the one he'd been using up for the ability to travel the worlds.

He had to hand it to her, she'd predicted everything. She made sure that he didn't lose anything, not for good, along his trip, taken care of him along the way, and then she'd sacrificed something that had been so precious to her for his sake. Something that people knew her for, prided her on, gave it all up for him.

So, it was weird, being able to surprise her now. He'd never really been able to do that before. Had he not tried hard enough? He wondered, had he ever taken the time to?

Well, no time like the present.

With his lightning-fast reflexes, he gathered her up into her arms. She gasped, shocked at the suddenness of the action.

He smiled against her hair.

"You know, I think I could get used to you not always knowing what I'm going to do."


	34. The Worst Night of Clubbing He'd Had

_Prompt: Club_

* * *

He should have known, Kurogane thought sourly to himself when he exited the building. He really should have known that going to a club with that damn magician was bound to be trouble.

It takes a certain kind of personality to fit in and enjoy clubs. Kurogane had enjoyed staking out and spying on people in clubs quite a few times, and had found that most people who frequented them were either lonely or bored, or dead out of cash and needing some fast. The lonely ones were the drunkards, the people that attached onto anything they could find as amusement, or the eager people thronging in the crowds about the entertainers. The people who worked there generally didn't pose a threat: it was the people who were bored that you had to watch out for.

Drawing too much notice to yourself was asking for trouble. So, with the ever-exuberant and ever-effusive Fai D. Flowright in tow, Kurogane knew that he would be in for an evening of trouble, missteps, and probably a barfight or two.

What actually ended up happening was...well, something he hadn't quite planned for.

The magician had been peppy and obnoxious as ever when they ended the club, almost hopping from one foot to the other in his glee.

"Kuro-pon, we're going to infiltrate a club! I've never gotten the chance to do this before! Do you think we'll win?"

Kurogane, who _had_ done this before, sighed and got them past the door attendant. "You're going to blow our cover if you keep that up." He whispered dangerously to his companion. It was too late. Fai was already attracting a small crowd as he met people and started to talk to them all about their quest.

Sitting back in a stool by the bar, Kurogane toyed with a drink. He didn't intend to imbibe anything that night--the drink was for show-- he had a feeling that he would probably need all his wits about him for the evening to go smoothly. Though, he mused, things wouldn't seem so terrible with a few gulps of alcohol. Things might, he thought sourly, even seem as good as they evidently did to Fai, who was quickly making a lot of friends and having a number of drinks bought for him.

The bartender came up to him and leaned on the counter.

"Tough night?"

Kurogane ran a hand through his hair as another gale of giggles erupted from the table that contained Fai. "You have no idea."

"Tell me about it," she replied soothingly. Her dress was black and lacey, with a flair for the dramatic that accentuated her dark eyes and her onyx-black, curly hair scraping her shoulders. Kurogane wondered what on earth someone so dressed up was doing in a bar, but then decided not to ask. People had their reasons, and sometimes you were safer not knowing.

"Just trying to find someone that knows something about what's been going on around here. People say things have been a little strange lately, and being new in town, I figured I'd ask. "

She gave him an obliging smile.

"You're an oni hunter, aren't you?"

Kurogane's eyes narrowed. What, did he have it plastered to his forehead or something? Her eyes glanced at Sohi's hilt. Ah. Yeah. He just tended to wear swords around these days. Oni, assassins, people that pissed him off: a sword was just plain handy for dealing with them.

He didn't feel the need to answer, instead cast a glance over at Fai, who seemed to be enjoying himself more and more. Kurogane had a sinking feeling that the mage was going to start dancing on tables, but returned his attention to the bartender, who seemed to have leant closer.

"Then there's some information I have for you," she started conspiratorily, with a wink, "but I don't want everyone in here to know."

He couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes. Oh please, how many times had people tried to lure him away with that line? All they wanted to do was corner him in a small space and try to take his stuff. Tsh. What a cheap ploy.

He was saved from having to extricate himself when an arm suddenly clasped around his shoulders.

"Sorry guys, but I already have someone I'm going home with," chimed the admirable and roaring drunk voice of Fai D. Flowright. The crowd didn't seem to be taking this well.

Kurogane's lips formed a tight, mirthless smile. "What the hell are you doing getting me caught up in your escapades?"

Fai grinned. "Oh, Kuro-tan, I found someone that thinks they know what the oni are doing. They say," here his voice dropped, "that the oni are really on a quest for cherries, and that's why they keep attacking. The guy had a whole paper written up on it, you should--"

Kurogane by that time was pushing his way through the crowd, dragging the mage out with him by the collar. Damn all these clubs, he cursed to himself, smile plastered on his face. Why did anyone in their right mind want to glean information from places like these? There had to be a better way, even if it meant paying through the nose. This was no way for him to spend his evenings, chaperoning an errant mage.

"Come back soon, m'kay?" The lady bartender called, her black locks swaying in the wind.

Yeah right, Kurogane thought, leaving the bar called Clover far behind him. Like he was going back there again.


	35. The Man that Time Forgot

_Prompt: Passing_

In the Katamari chapter, I mentioned something about a train heist, and I just couldn't get the idea out of my head.

* * *

He was never more acutely aware of time passing when he traveled to worlds where it had gone too far.

Piffle had been way out of his league at first. Cars that flew through the air? Yeah right. Piloting a car that flew through the air? Now that brought reality into sharp focus.

Now, robbing a train. He really hated the things, and had made this hatred pretty damn clear, but they just didn't seem to be getting it. Apparently, they needed back-up more than they wanted him to be comfortable.

Fine. Kurogane sulked. Fine. Just show him how much he mattered.

It honestly wouldn't have been so bad if they hadn't decided that riding on the roof was the best way to go in and steal the feather. Oh, he sure as hell could have done without that. He felt like a giant spider, clinging for dear life on the top of the train cars, since that damn mage'd decided to go all out and do this "traditionally" (hell, they had traditions for robbing a moving cylinder? There were some things about the future that he would never understand), and that apparently involved risking death at every opportunity.

Going through the tunnel was even worse. Sakura yelped, but she had no idea. She wasn't as tall as he was, couldn't feel the wind whipping, the rocks narrowly passing him by...

He got up as the others eased themselves toward the skylight and prepared to enter. Show time.

Trains, he muttered to himself as he slid down into the compartments, ready to start raising hell. Never again.


	36. A Line Drawn Between Light and Dark

_Prompt: Light & Awakening _

Thanks to SnowsShadows again for the prompt help--more are on the way!

* * *

Light from the early morning sun drifted in through the window panes, across the bedside, and across his face. His eyelids felt the warmth, and finding it repellent, squinted further shut as he rolled over, avoiding the break in the shades.

He really preferred the dark anyway. Much more exciting stuff came out to walk when the lights went down. And those who needed to navigate through the darkness would need a protector, someone to drive the strange, unfamiliar things away, someone who also was a thing of the night.

But in the light, sleeping with the blankets twirled around him, he really didn't look that deadly. His sword was hung from a coat peg hammered into the wall by the previous occupant, and his cloak lay neatly folded on a chair next to it. His other possessions, such as belt, helm, and armor were in storage (read: Mokona) and taken out as needed. He absoluely wouldn't let the manjuu touch his sword, Ginryuu or not.

He has heard it said that you look like the child you once were when you sleep. He had never seen himself sleeping, but hopes it's not too true. Or at least, that the child he looks like is the child he remembers as being happy as, not the one bent on revenge.

He doesn't.

He looks tired, circles coming out more under his eyes when he's relaxed, with a slight crease down his brow, like he's secretly worrying about something, even as he dreams. He has trained himself to be a light sleeper, to be woken up at the slightest movement, so perhaps that's why he's acquired that unconscious distaste for mornings, for that time when he has to get up, realize how tired he is from waking up at every unfamiliar sound of the night, and remind himself that it is day, not evening, and that there is probably nothing exciting to do today until later.

Traveling the worlds has taken a toll on him, one less prominent than the loss of his sword but still visible. He is tired, exhausted, and, constantly trying to keep them safe from the terrors of the dark, has left open his most vulnerable self to the morning light.

It's an odd paradox, he murmured, pulling the blankets more firmly around him to attempt to block out the sun. After all this, he still doesn't know.

Is he the light in the darkness or the darkness in the light?

He supposed it would ruin the mystery of the thing if it were so easy. Maybe he's simply a shade of grey, some pale swatch of night spread across the sky, fleeing the oncoming dawn. He supposes, he supposes...

But black has always been his color and darkness seems to suit him.

He heard the steps creak above and groaned. They were all so innocent, weren't they? Sometimes you had to take a step into the dark to see what the light was really like. He has taken that step. In fact, he has taken lots of those steps.

He rolled out of bed, covers massing around him, and went to the cabinet where he knows the bandages are. He bandaged the wound from the night deftly and quickly, and then slipped back into bed. Guarding them through the night was sometimes more exciting than he let on.

Besides, he liked to sleep in.


	37. A Vow to Bind Them

_Prompt: A Vow & Ghost Stories_

Credit for the second prompt goes to dreamsengraved! I really like the combination of these two and how the story turned out with them. If there's anything people want to see, send me a suggestion! I love hearing from you guys!

--cy.

* * *

"I swear it."

He held the sword out to the light of the moon, alone in the field. It was one of the few times that he found himself alone these days, mostly used to being bothered at the most inconvenient times by the most unlikely people. Why, just yesterday Syaoran had asked him to explain why Fai had meant by one of his jokes.

Kurogane hadn't expected to have to answer that. But, damn, the kid had just been so confused...

Okay, so maybe he wasn't completely used to them yet. He'd learn. You didn't just make good on promises in a single night, despite the fact that that was all the time it took to make them.

Tonight was different. It was a reaffirmation, tying another knot in the bound that had been forged so many years ago.

The darkness cloaked his smile. Hell, the number of times he did this, that bound must have been pretty damn huge by now.

It always seemed that he came to do this out of different reasons. Sometimes, he felt that he had to train more, that he'd let something slip by that he should have been able to block. Sometimes it was something out of the blue, like a yearly offering he felt weird without making. And other times it was ...well, for reasons that he really didn't want to admit, not yet. Now, though, it was out of a need to remind himself that she was still out there, somewhere, and not to give up the ghost.

His smile faded into something rueful.

There were stories told, he'd heard them in passing (no one really told him ghost stories; you expected to scare the listener, and Kurogane wasn't someone that people really wanted to try and scare. Somehow they were much more comfortable with him being the scary one), whispers in a hall, or hushed conversations from a doorway.

_"Did you hear that sometimes, they say, when a swordsman makes a pledge and doesn't fulfill it, that his spirit is doomed to wander forever, always attached to the sword he swore on, a ghost?"_

There were reasons that you didn't break oaths.

_"And that, until the blade is broken, he'll never stop trying to make good on his promise, always in vain..."_

He'd never heard of any spirit haunting a weapon. If there was any blade that deserved to be haunted by ghosts, it was Ginryuu, and before he'd traded it off to the witch he was pretty sure that there was nothing attached to it. Would he have even considered letting it out of his sight if, say, it had?

Maybe all swords came with their own ghosts. All the old swords had memories of battles and valor attached to them, a train of memories flowing behind them as they passed from one wielder to the next. The new swords were fresh, but always seemed to have a personality; nothing was without an attachment.

If that was true then, he glanced at Sohi, he was going to be one hell of a ghost. Probably an angry ghost, too, he judged, imagining the countless hours of fun there were to be had terrorizing young kids trying to master the art of swordplay.

But, no, that wasn't for him. It sounded pretty nice, but the whole point of him re-dedicating himself to his mission and swearing himself to her on a new sword wasn't so he could break his promises. He had things that he needed to do.

Protect her, for one thing, but first, get back to her.

And so, he made his pact, before the stars and heavens, before the wide plains, and in sight of the moon.

"I vow by this blade that I shall return. By its name, steel, and the obstacles it surpasses, I promise you this."

He held Sohi up to the night sky a moment more, lost in thought.

Kurogane kept his promises. By any means necessary, but still, the sentiment was the same.


	38. Something He Couldn't Do

_Prompt: Giving Thanks_

* * *

_Be grateful_, he heard the servants say as they hustled him along down the hall to his quarters. _You should be thankful that you weren't executed on the spot for attacking Her Imperial Majesty and the Tsukiyomi. _

He could have laughed.

Grateful. That's what they wanted him to be.

What? Had they expected him to be brimming with fresh hope and aspiration, tears welling up in his eyes at the thought of the new life he was going to start? Fat chance. That was about as stupid as asking him if he was grateful that his parents were dead, if he was thanking whatever higher power was his to thank that he could leave his own country, only after having slain anything living enemy within his reach? Why wasn't he so repentant for his actions that he bowed and expressed his thanks to them seven times a day?

Was he grateful that they had taken him out of there, or that she had shattered his rage with a single sentence? He could have been another monster, wandering through the lands of Suwa, a warning for travelers passing.

But he was not. Instead, he was here.

He supposed that her elder sister must have been grateful not to have to lose an arm for the sake of protecting her people, and that the company of men set out to put down the threat was grateful the monsters wouldn't be coming back any time soon. The palace staff might be grateful to have a promising new recruit training to be a ninja. Maybe someone would sleep better.

But he? Was he truly thankful for anything?

He had a sword and he could use it. He had been taught, then had worked hard to learn the techniques on his own. He owed no one living gratitude for that.

The only thing he was truly grateful for, he conceded as he brushed off their hands and directions and struck out, was that they were buried together. That was the one thing he couldn't have done just as easily on his own.


	39. They Only Have So Many Deadly Sins

_Prompt: Spade_

* * *

When a fortune teller had refused to tell his future, he hadn't cared all that much. He was being forced into it by the group of people he'd been traveling with, and it didn't matter to him one way or the other. It was when she called him the human incarnation of the Ace of Spades that his interest was piqued.

She refused to tell him any more, regardless of how much he pressured her to enlighten him, so he left, wondering what on earth something like that might mean.

Through another world, they had said that he was one of those cursed people that brought devastation wherever they walked, that he was afflicted by some seven sins or something, and that he corrupted their holy spaces. He found one of their followers eating lunch at a cafe and cornered him to get more information.

He was never one for people saying things about him that he didn't understand.

And so, Kurogane pondered their accusations.

Sloth has never been his forte; no matter how he starts his day or goes through it, he doesn't slack. You want laziness, talk to the mage. He had work to do. Such as finding all these damn feathers (he'd spent an afternoon when they'd all gone to the zoo, watching the tropical birds and trying to get a count on their feathers, figuring Sakura would have a few times that number. It was depressingly large) or returning to Nihon to get back to protecting the palace and roosting on Shirasaki's roofs.

Greed, he considered, had never been a problem. He had few goals, and while he wanted them to succeed, he wasn't deadset on obtaining possessions for himself. Ginryuu was all he had that truly mattered, and he'd make sure to get that back from the witch at any cost...

Gluttony, perhaps in bloodshed, he conceded, but even that was lessening. This damn curse was nothing if unforgiving, and he didn't like to push its limits. Typically, once he caused something to start bleeding, it tended not to stop easily. So, he left it at incapacitated.

Envy had only been a holiday experience, something that came about perennially but was pretty rare otherwise. Would he envy them their lives untouched by sorrow? Or course not, not any more. Perhaps the only thing he was really envious about what the fact that someone else would be protecting his princess while he was out gallivanting across worlds. And that bothered him more than he cared to admit...

Lust only in bloodlust, he told himself. Control was something he prided himself on, and he certainly wasn't going to let any irrational feelings get in his way when he came and beat any of Tomoyo's suitors to a pulp on his return. Feelings just needlessly complicated these things further.

Pride, perhaps. Alright, fine, he was proud. But hadn't that been the kind of pride that comes with accomplishment and hard work, the kind of back-breaking training that you feel good about having survived at the end of the day? He asked. Didn't you deserve to feel proud of your family, your country, proud that you were chosen above all the others to guard the princess, or proud that you had done your best to avenge the wrongs done to you?

He certainly felt like it.

But the last was something he couldn't debate. For he freely admitted, without any argument, that it was Wrath where he gave up. He wouldn't comment on how it took him over, fueled his actions, and occupied his brain. It was controlled, premeditated; he was far from attacking anyone in a rage, unprovoked. But wrath? Oh, he had it in spades.


	40. Speaking in Tongues

_Prompt: What?_

* * *

Kurogane ran a hand through his hair. Alright, this place was weird.

They hadn't even entered this world together and here they were leaving it. He hated the whole business of world-to-world travel, all this up and leaving without a second to get your bearings. And what's more, he especially hated it when that damn mage decided to start talking in gibberish for no good reason.

It wasn't that Fai didn't usually do this anyway, but it was just the thing to push Kurogane over the edge. He's just sat through a long night of trying to figrue things out, and he hadn't sliced up anything in ages. Since Oto, or whatever that place had been.

Hell, they hadn't even found Syaoran and Sakura in this new world and here they were somewhere different. And Fai seemed determined to make weird nosies.

"What the hell are you saying?" He thought he heard something that sounded like "Kuro-pon" in there, but he wasn't sure. He did, though, throw a dirty glare Fai's way just in case.

Tsh. Trust the one companion he had remaining only to get wackier the longer he had to deal with him. He looked out in the distance and a small dwelling caught his eye. Maybe he could get the people there to give them something to eat. They'd been about to settle down and eat dinner when they'd been swept away, and damn, he was hungry.

"Okay, we head to the house, got it?"

Fai responded questioningly, in something that wasn't a language Kurogane had ever heard.

"What was that?" Kurogane said threateningly. He was getting sick of playing these games. Time to get down to business.

Fai made more sounds, and Kurogane began walking down to the house without him. Fai stood very still, looking at him as he passed, eyes wide.

When the wizard called after him, Kurogane had walked so far off that he wouldn't have been able to tell if the magician had finally given up on his game or was still clinging on to it.

"What?" he called back angrily, hearing footsteps race through the grass as Fai hastened to catch up. They knocked on the door of the house together and a young woman appeared.

"Oh, are you two with Yasha-ou's army?" She asked, mixing bowl in one hand as she glanced back at the interior of the house. An oven with red coals radiated heat out into the room and trays of bread loaves sat on racks and every other available flat surface.

Kurogane didn't care all that much about the bread. Hell, he wasn't even hungry anymore. Whoever this was, she'd said the magic word.

"What army? We're new around here." Though, he considered, he wouldn't mind joining up. Stupid curse. If he had gone into this thing unfettered, then a battlefield would have been just the thing to test his strength on. Oh well. At least he wouldn't have to worry about his skills going to waste.

Later, when they had had their fill of loaves (anything, the baker had said, to help people interested in aiding Yasha-ou), Fai and Kurogane were making camp outside beneath the sky. Kurogane was in high spirits.

"Looks like we need to head south tomorrow. You still not talking?"

Fai, by this time, had given up. He just flat out refused to answer any questions. Kurogane shrugged. Hey, if the mage wanted to be upset that he hadn't played along with his little game, that was his problem. Kurogane was having none of it.

"Wonder where the kids and that manjuu went to." It felt weird being the only one talking. Tsh. That magician was way too much into his games. Kurogane was proud to say that _he_ had thicker skin than that.

It took about two more days before the startling realization finally came to him.

"What?! Why didn't you tell me you couldn't understand what we were saying?"


	41. Sweet and Savory

_Prompt: Breakfast_

Thanks for all the prompt suggestions, guys! They've made going through all these drabbles a lot easier!

--cy.

* * *

Kurogane felt the unwelcome sunlit on his face and heard the chattering of voices downstairs long before he would have wanted to. He groaned to himself and sling an arm over his eyes. All-night training did not mean that he could be woken up like a normal person. It meant, in no uncertain terms, don't wake him up before noon.

But apparently, he thought snarkily as he pushed the covers back (he'd been so tired that it was really a miracle that he'd managed to collapse on the bed and not somewhere on the floor), his preferences really didn't seem to matter this morning. Or whatever the hell it was.

He checked the window and shot the bird chirping right outside it a withering glare. The bird abruptly stopped singing.

Well, at least some things were looking up.

He made his way downstairs, pulling on a black shirt over his plaid pants (the magician had flat out insisted that everyone splurge and get a pair of pajamas, but Kurogane had seen a nifty shuriken in an antique store window, and so he only had enough money to get the pants. He didn't mind. It wasn't like he would have used the shirt much anyway. Fai did not approve), and heard the cacophony of pots and pans clanging against each other from the downstairs.

"Hurry up, Kurogane-san!"

"That's right, Kuro-bun! Your breakfast awaits!"

If Kurogane had been a bit more awake, he would have told them all off, but his tiredness let it slide. He slumped into a chair at the table, hoping that if he went along with it they would get it over with and then leave him alone. This was typically how things worked.

"Mokona thinks Kurogane's hair looks funny in the morning!"

"I think pork buns always look funny in the morning." He replied right back. The puff ball deflated and clung to Fai's shoulder, voicing its woes to him as the magician and the princess worked at the stove.

"Ah, poor Moko-chan. Yes, I do understand how you feel. Now, Sakura-chan, if you'll just flip that--good! We're almost ready."

Ready for what? Kurogane buried his head in his hands, trying to blot out the hateful sun that was making his eyes squint.

Something thunked down on the table before him. Kurogane didn't trust it. He hadn't seen it yet, but he didn't trust it one bit.

He peeked through his hands, and then stared at the thing. It was a roll of some kind, with stuff spilling out the center. He tilted his head. If he looked at it this way, it looked like someone had tried to make sushi out of something very long and had done it very badly.

"What the hell is this?" He asked, pointing at the thing. Sweetness seemed to radiate off of it. He could almost feel the sugar stinging his eyes and working its way into all the hard-to-reach corners of his mouth. Ick.

"It's a crepe, Kurogane-san! Fai said that these are really good breakfast foods!"

Kurogane hmphed, looked at the thing, and frowned. "Why is it all red and brown?"

Sakura looked at his crepe and gasped. "Oh! That's not yours! It's got strawberries and chocolate on it! I think this is supposed to be mine..." She said, hastily moving the offending pastry aside and going to fetch the correct one. Kurogane could swear that the magician snapped his fingers. Foiled again.

What Sakura placed before him was the same thing, but a little different. Instead of the aura of intense sweet, it seemed more...edible.

"Fai-san told me about the differences between crepes. You can either make them sweet, like mine, which people seem to like for breakfast, or you can make them savory, like yours. Savory crepes are typically eaten for lunch and have stuff like vegetables, meat, and egg in them sometimes."

She nodded, finishing the lesson.

Kurogane sighed. So they knew that he didn't like sugar and had made something different for him. That was considerate of them. Surprisingly so.

Of course, they'd tried to feed him the sugared up one first, which didn't surprise him at all. His stomach growled and he decided that the savory version sounded infinitely more edible.

Syaoran came downstairs soon after, and they all ate breakfast together. Though, not without Fai insisting that it was also tradition to sprinkle powdered sugar on top of the crepes, which Kurogane would not let him do at any cost, guarding the crepe fiercely.

"Saa, Kuro-bun, you've got to move or I won't be able to put this on your crepe."

"I don't want it."

"Ah, but it's tradition!"

"To hell with tradition!"

A sigh. "Fine. I suppose I'll just have to put the sugar on you, then."

Kurogane prepared for the worst. If he could eat a normal breakfast for once, then it was a small sacrifice to make.


	42. A Discourse on Board Games

_Prompt: Family Game Night_

Credit for the prompt goes to dreamsengraved! Thanks!

* * *

Family was loyalty, and all that that implied. It was respect and honor, but also the priveldge of getting to know people more closely than outsiders would get to know them. There was a vulnerability in that. One that, before this madcap trip, he had never fully appreciated.

"Alright! So is it going to be Life or Monopoly tonight?"

Kurogane finds himself wondering if the two are really just the same thing, literally and metaphorically. Both are a pain in the ass to get through, take a ton of time, and generally are just a glorified money-counting adventure. But he doesn't have too much time to wonder, since the game's beginning.

Apparently, it's Life.

Tsh. Pity. He slides down to the floor, a hulk of unhappy black cloth and armor. He always liked Monopoly better anyway. At least it didn't have prentensions about what it was, like this one did. Life. Like it was trying to convince you that it was some happy adventure. It wasn't.

He notes that the board has milestones on it, like getting married, getting out of school, and sending your offspring to college. He also notes that it lacks other important things such as death of your parents, balancing a budget on your own, and learning to survive without help from anybody else. He has a sinking feeling that the people in this world don't have to deal with the last one too much. He sort of wishes they would more.

The game progresses, the kids laugh at some joke of Fai's. Kurogane has the red car as his piece. He was a little miffed at the game for not having a black car, but red is the next best thing.

"Okay, Kuro-bun, spin the wheel!"

Sakura sits up on her hands and watches intently, a smile still radiant on her face. Apparently, something good happened to her on her last turn. He frowns and spins the wheel. He doesn't understand this crap about a game. Hell yes, he's going to kick all their asses at it (a little competition is always healthy) but what's the point?

Syaoran blushes as the spinner stops, confusing and worrying the ninja to no end. Sakura, on looking at the board, glances from him to Fai in anticipation. Fai smiles.

Crap. Now he knew it was bad. At least in Monopoly you didn't have this sort of embarrassment; you basically could just make people pay you back for any harm caused you. Kurogane was really starting to like Monopoly better.

"Alright already, what's so funny?"

Fai reaches into the box and pulls out a small pink peg. "Congratulations, Kuro-tan! You just got married!"

Kurogane is speechless for a moment, as he watches the magician deposit the peg in his vehicle, next to him. Tomoyo was sure as hell not going to be pleased.


	43. Days Go By

_Prompt: Weeks_

* * *

They're riding on a streetcar, high above a city of towers cut into the rock of the mountain, and he can't help but feel jealous of all the people scuttling to and fro beneath him, off to their homes, their meetings, their jobs.

They're the ones that have jobs that don't changed from week to week. They don't have to deal with how weird it is to be a warrior on Tuesday, a chef on Wednesday, Friday's gossip, a Saturday coachman, raw muscle on Sunday, and the hired help for Monday. They always know basically what's coming, he thinks irrationally, and they don't haver to wonder whether they'll be able to do what they like in a fortnight.

He envies them their certainty. Instead of being where he wants to be, he's stuck here in a car, going through the air high above them as he and his group search for the one out-of-place in their day-to-day life.

He misses the routine, the sureness. In Nihon, even though his job changed every night, with new foes to battle and different tactics to employ, it was still basically the same job. He could, just like the people below him, say what he was going to be doing for the next week, or at least have an idea of it.

Now, he was finding that harder than usual.

"Come on, Kurogane!" A pork bun chimed. "It's time to take the glider down!"

Sometimes he wished things had stayed the same.


	44. Never Quite What He Seems

_Prompt: Outsides_

This one's set during the Hanshin Republic, where Mokona keeps stealing Kurogane's food. In other news, I finished my Kuro-plush doll today. yay!

--cy.

* * *

He eyes the pork bun warily, watching it as it watches the food being cooked before them. It's said that it's on their side, but he doesn't believe it for a moment. People's inside feelings are often quiet different from what their outsides might lead you to assume.

The food begins to sizzle. Somewhere at this table, they're learning value information about Kudans, the outward manifestations of their inner selves, or something like that. He's not listening.

They probably think he is, though. They know that his hearing is better than most, that he is more perceptive, and that he is not someone to be triffled with. He is a force to be reckoned with.

But, they don't know a lot of things about him. He's loyal to only one person, and will do anything to get back to her. They don't see that on the inside he's wondering if the manjuu could take him back to her world, if he could kidnap it during the night, how fast he could make his getaway without the rest of them noticing, whether it would respond to straight-out threats or if he would need to use force.

All these thoughts cross his mind, but all they see is a black-clad man watching the stove, waiting for food that reminds him of his home country. Sad, wistful, but not the conniving, cunning, sneaky, and sometimes underhanded thoughts he thinks.

The food is almost done, but the pork bun grabs it and inhales it --literally-- before he can so much as breathe its fresh scent in. He growls at it, wondering to himself if it really is some envoy of evil sent to punish him.

There's so much going on that on the outside doesn't show.


	45. Divergent Path

_Prompt: If_

* * *

He doesn't dream much. Even in the safety of his parents' house at Suwa, knowing that his father and countless soldiers guard them from harm and the monsters, he still finds it difficult to dream.

His mother tells him not to worry, that he'll dream when it's important that he dream. Kurogane figures that she would know, so he trusts her and sleeps without dreaming.

Except for one night, a night in which he found himself standing in a garden, filled with flowers he'd never seen and butterflies weaving through plants that look as alien to him as though they'd come from another world. He saw a woman clad in black coming towards him, and he didn't know what to feel. Not safe, not welcomed. But not that she was out to hurt him either. Just...on his guard.

She walked toward him, and he found that she was really very tall. Perhaps, he thinks back, it was because he was young at the time, but even then all he really seems to remember about her is how she towered over him. It was weird, unsettling.

"There is a choice that you must make." She said, a voice like the insects tracing their course on the air, lilting, light enough to be carried away on a breeze.

He didn't have to ask what, he remembers. She knelt down by him, still taller than him (was he exaggerating, or was it just the dream?) and asked, "A link in the chain of destiny connects you to one other. If this link is not severed, she will die. If it is, she will find another, and a new link will be forged."

Kurogane had shaken his head, not understanding.

"So you want me to decide if someone should live or die? What sort of a question is that?"

The woman sighed. "The question is: should they be with you and die or without you and live?"

The boy thought. "To be my friend and die, that doesn't seem very fair." He didn't have many friends his own age in Suwa. His days were spent training so that he could protect people when he got older, like his father did, and take over the job of keeping the people in their country safe. Settlements were widespread, too far for people not in each other's villages to visit each other much. It had never really bothered him, until now, when the chance of having a friend was dangled in front of him, so teasingly...only if--

"What is your choice?" The woman asked. "The divergences both have their balancing good and ills, the payment will come in whether you are able to live with yourself or not."

Kurogane didn't pay much attention to the last sentence, but responded promptly. "I don't want anyone to die because of me. If they don't want to be my friend, then that's fine with me." He remembers crossing his arms, like he'd seen his father do when being threatened by another country's ruler's messenger.

"Very well." The woman in black said, and then he remembers no more.

Now that he goes through it all, he can't help but recall the dream and wonder. Who was it that he would have been bound to?

And, an even more unsettling thought works its way through his mind: had he known who she was, would he have made the same choice? He'd changed quite a bit from the naive boy he'd been, willing to believe that life was precious and only to be taken out of necessity.

There are so many if's, and so many questions he dreads the answers to.


	46. All Things in Moderation

_Prompt: Snow_

* * *

The snow falls slowly, covering everything in sight. Kurogane tugs his overcoat closer around him, trying to keep the neck of the garment from flying open.

"Kuro-bun, dodge!"

Kurogane looks around, senses the projectile, and glares at the magician as a snowball flies over his head. He frowns. People who live in countries where it's always winter are bound to be strange. All that snow drives them to insanity.

He turns his head to see how the other two are doing. The pork is riding on Fai's shoulders, pointing out the shapes of different snowflakes, while the kids stare in awe at the white stuff.

"The only time I've ever seen something like this is when I went to go see an old volcano spouting ash," the kid says, tentatively touching the stuff. Sakura, who had been sleeping just moments before, is smiling, though a little confused whenever she feels the chill sensation of a flake melting on her skin.

Kurogane sighs. Fai, on one side of him, is trying to urge his horse to race through the snow, like he used to do back in his old country, and the kids on the other side of him are stuck wondering at the stuff. One's seen too much snow, the others not enough. Looks like it's up to him, the only person with four balanced seasons in his diet, to once again be the sensible one.

He hates doing that.

A trickle of cold slides down his spine and he shivers. Damn it, these clothes suck at keeping out snow. He shakes the neck of his collar out again and frowns.

"Kuro-rin, race you to that sign up ahead!" The mage shouts, and rushes off, agile in the snow. "Last one there doesn't get dessert!"

The ninja's eyes narrow as Fai and the kid dash off, leaving the princess to attempt to rush after them. Sakura, though, still woozy from sleep, makes a valiant sprint, but then falls face first into a snow drift. Kurogane slowly walks up to her and pulls her out.

She looks back at him, then on seeing how close her competitor is to outrunning her (despite his not running), she attempts to run again, but--

"Just give it up, already." He says, grasping the back of her coat and plucking her out of another drift. "It's not like I want the dessert anyway."

Sakura stops struggling, looks up and smiles, as though she's about to say something (thanks, probably, he thinks), and then promptly falls asleep. Kurogane manages to catch her before she falls down a third time, and begrudgingly carries the princess to the sign, where Syaoran and the mage are waiting.

Stupid snow. It makes everyone needlessly giddy. They're dropping their guard too much, he thinks to himself, checking for attackers as they approach the city.

"Hey, look, Syaoran-kun! This country's called Spirit!"

The kid smiles, infected with the snow-happiness. "That's pretty appropriate."

Kurogane pauses, then glares at the town's sign. He doesn't think he can take much more of this, let alone a whole town full of relentlessly happy people. They'd better have some problem or something that makes them all depressed or he would be a very unhappy ninja.

Sakura snoozed delicately in his arms as the group made their way through streets, snow whirling about them and forming miniature tornadoes of white at their feet. He's so preoccupied with the patterns its making, as it sprawls its way down from the cloudy skies, that it takes him a few seconds to recognize what is going on, what the sounds mean...

He turns to see that a militia have surrounded them, weapons drawn and directed at them. Fai and the kid have quit their happy act and instead are on guard. Kurogane smiles, appraising his prospective enemies.

Well, maybe today was looking up after all. All he needed to so was get this girl out of his arms, and he'd be all set.


	47. Departures

_Prompt: Months_

This is one of the possible ways I thought that Tsubasa could end. I wonder how it'll actually turn out...

--cy.

* * *

"You will have been gone for a period of some months."

"Months?" He questioned, not quite able to keep the anger out of his voice. He'd gotten the true meaning of strength alright, but that didn't mean that he just had to lay down and let people walk all over him. And the witch was certainly not going to send him back months after he'd last been in Nihon. Tomoyo could have fallen prey to who knows what...

"Months." She replied, unwavering. Tsh.

So this was it. They were done.

All the feathers had been recovered and returned to their rightful owner (who was actually about to transport them all to their respective homes), Fei Wong Reed had been dealt with, and the matter of finding out what destiny really bound Sakura and Syaoran was solved. Fei Wong was out of the running, perhaps permanently, and the two kids found that it was the irresistible kind of bond. There, mystery solved. Show's over. Now, it was time to go home.

The garden looks a lot like when they'd first come here: dark under the cover of night, lit only by the witch's magic and lanterns from the house.

"Now who shall go back to their worlds first?" The witch asked. It's not really her choice any more, and she doesn't even need to have anything to do with it, since they're through with bargaining. Kurogane glanced at his companions. Syaoran would go back last, since he'd be with Sakura. The magician had the pork bun nestled on his shoulder, since he still planned to keep traveling the worlds after their journey. Well, that didn't leave many choices.

"Alright, let's go."

Syaoran shook his hand, a formal but respectful gesture to his former master. The magician followed suit (which surprised Kurogane to no end--he'd been expecting a full-on hug, but since recovering his eye and riding himself of vampirism, the mage seemed to be keeping his distance), and the manjuu hopped off his head and buried itself in Kurogane's cloak.

"Mokona doesn't want Kurogane to leave! Who will Mokona steal sushi from at restaurants, or from the refrigerator?"

Kurogane's eyes narrowed at the puff ball that was crying into his shoulder. This was difficult, since glaring at someone crying on your shoulder is about as tricky as trying to glare at your neck, but somehow Kurogane managed. He did look very silly, though.

"So that was you all those times?"

Mokona nodded, still teary. Kurogane looked at it again and sighed.

"Tsh. I should have known. Fine," he said, and in an action that surprised not only himself but everyone else, he patted the pork bun on the head, "since you were able to steal them without me noticing, you can keep them."

The manjuu hugged him tighter. Syaoran looked confused.

"Uh, Kurogane-san, what would you have done if you said Mokona couldn't keep them? I mean, it's not like you could take them back..."

To this, Kurogane smiled. Wickedly. It was answer enough.

Before doing her floating wing thing (Kurogane could never come up with a good name for it), Sakura rushed over to him and gave him a hug. He patted her back awkwardly, not really expecting such a show of affection to come from her. She said that she'd miss him, and then, just as quickly as she'd come, she was gone, concentrating on summoning her wings to transport him back.

And that was the last glimpse he ever got of them: the four standing there in that garden, Syaoran's face betraying his consternation about what Kurogane could possibly do to Mokona, Fai waving to him, that goofy smile still on his face, the pork bun drying its eyes on Fai's robe, but waving all the same, and Sakura, floating in the air as wings fanned out majestically from behind her.

He grinned one last time and raised a hand to wave back--just a short, simple salute-- but by the time he carried the action out, they were gone, replaced by the towers of Shirasaki and his beloved Nihon.


	48. Last Light Fading

_Prompt: Death_

This is set before the journey takes place, more as an exercise to see what the journey would be like and how it would be affected if Kurogane wasn't there.

--cy.

* * *

The carriage is overturned by the side of the road, and the meadow grass it fell on is pressed close to the ground. He sees it from this view a few yards away, as he stares up at the sky and its setting sun, unable to move anymore.

Guess he should have paid more attention to the archer. Tsh. Shows what you get for being merciful to someone every once in a while: they always come back to shoot you when you're not looking.

He almost hadn't let the man go, but something inside him had made him do it. He couldn't place what. His mission here was to guard the decoy caravan, to give the illusion a hint of reality as the princess followed later. He was supposed to rejoin them after.

A laugh forces its way up his throat and it hurts. He wonders if he'll still be there when the princess' convoy reaches him. The only redeeming thing about the attack is that he took his assailant down with him. That much he could promise.

He just wishes...he has no regrets. He has protected his princess until the very end, has served her faithfully, and has at last fallen prey to a peril of his job. He selfishly wants her to be there with him, though. To see his sacrifice and to know once and for all that he meant what he said about being loyal to her and her alone.

He sighs.

The last lights begin to fade in the sky as darkness sets in, and the carriage wheel stops turning. He's not even worried any more. He just wishes...

Somewhere across the universe, unbeknownst to him, a small fire winks out and with it, the last chance to thwart a scheme. Four travelers, not even gathered yet, are cast into darkness. A girl perishes, a mage is a slave to his curse, a boy vanishes, and a dark dream comes true.


	49. Your Point?

_Prompt: And_

* * *

It was the thing that separated him from the rest, that which people feared most about him, that which unnerved them most. The smile came in a close second, but it was this that always took them by surprise.

"You can't go out there! It's not safe!"

"Tch. You're going to need more of a reason than that."

They would pause, marvelling.

"It's bad weather tonight--the battleground's likely flooded."

"I've fought in worse."

"They're using poisoned blades!"

To this he'd smirk. "At least that makes it interesting."

"Are you insane? You could get killed!"

He shrugged. "And?"

"If not you, then think of the innocents that would die!"

The smile hasn't left his face, as he says the one word that will make them step aside, eyes dead.

"And?"


	50. In Pursuit of Life, Freedom, and Sushi

_Prompt: Thunder_

* * *

"What?" He thundered at the woman behind the counter, who was taking refuge behind the cash register. "What do you mean you don't serve anything with fish? You people live on a floating continent!"

"Sir," she began hastily, smoothing out the front of her apron which had become wrinkled in the scuffle, "please, listen. By the Accords of St. Cyr, we're forbidden to harm our watery brethern. It's entirely unlawful--"

"Tch." He sighed, and ignored the rest of her speech as he walked out the door.

Kurogane didn't demand too much from life: action, excitement, people to kill, and sushi on occasion. Yeah, he would have preferred the sushi to happen more frequently, but he was getting used to it. But, honestly. Of all the places to outlaw fishing and consumption of fish...

What a crappy idea.

Seething with fury (which he had managed to curb long to exit), he went back to the rooms that they were staying in and slumped down on a couch. He stomach growled pleadingly. He imagined the savory taste of seaweed against his tongue, and then the fish inside spilling into his mouth like a cascade of flavor...

A sound from one of the other rooms jerked him back to reality. Sakura, busily putting out some linens, smiled at him and waved. And that's when the idea hit him. He took a few seconds to wonder about it, but then made up his mind.

Hell with it.

"Come on," he said to her, grasping her wrist and pulling her along.

"Ah! Kurogane-san, where are we going?"

He grinned evily.

"Fishing."

Storm clouds had begun to gather overhead before they'd gotten a single bite. On their way through the market, Kurogane had been able to pick up some seaweed and rice with relative ease, since the edict against partaking of marine life only extended to things with fins. Something rumbled far off in the horizon. Kurogane was amazed that it wasn't his stomach.

He kept his pole very still, waiting...

"Kurogane-san?"

"Hm?"

"It looks like rain..."

"Keep fishing."

There was another pause between them, as Sakura obediently kept her rod in the water.

"Um..."

"What?"

"I think I can sense them," she said slowly, eyes scanning the grey waters, "it's like when I feel things that are lonely. I think I can feel that there are more fish over here..." Her hand waved over a patch of water. Kurogane, willing to take any chance now, cast his line in. And, miraculously, there was a bite.

He reeled the thing in, anticipation fueling his hands. His tongue ached for the feel of moist, fish against it--

Suddenly, the thunder got louder. Kurogane realized, holding a flapping fish in his hand, that it really wasn't thunder at all.

"Ah, Kurogane-san! It's a helicopter!"

Crap. Like hell he was letting these guys steal his fish.

He stuffed the thing into one of his pockets (his cloak was great for concealing the slight bulge and occasional jerk of the fish's fins) and glanced at Sakura, who stood there, frozen.

He sighed. She was a lost cause. Disappearing quickly into the forests and pathways of the woods, his ears just managed to pick up the phrase: "Fishing is illegal? I-I didn't know!"

Safe, with his decoy caught, Kurogane slipped back to their house. He'd break Sakura out of jail later, but for now...

It was full-out raining with no signs of stopping when the door opened again. A very soaked Fai D. Flowright entered, ruffling his hair, which had become matted down by all the rain, followed by Syaoran, also wet and looking a bit piqued, and Sakura, who seemed on the verge of tears.

Kurogane had just finished putting the final touches on the chopsticks he'd carved when Fai came up to him.

"Kuro-tan, how could you do this to poor Sakura-chan? All she wanted to do was to help you and spend more time with you, and there you go, getting her thrown into prisons along the way. Doesn't her happiness mean anything to you?"

Kurogane snapped the sticks apart. Currently, his own happiness was resting right in front of him. He deftly selected a piece of sushi and swallowed it.

Mmmm.

"...can't believe that a kind, nice girl like that would ever be out doing harm to their sacred fish." Fai paused and his brow furrowed. "Kuro-bun, are you eating it?"

Kurogane chewed thoughtfully. "You know, for sacred fish, it tastes just about the same as the ones back home."

Syaoran was about to march the ninja right down to the police building, even though it meant he would probably get beaten up multiple times along the way, when Fai sighed, shook his head, and pulled a feather out from his robe.

"Saa, ah well. At least we're going to the next world soon."


	51. And Skirts that Trail Along the Floor

_Prompt: Purple_

* * *

The cloth swept over the tiles, sliding over and between the cracks in the floor, elegant and regal in its motion. It whipped around corners and parade elegantly behind its owner, a fitting accompaniment to so royal a personage.

Purple, he muses, it's always purple.

It reminds him of the dark side of dusk, the way clouds blend into each other and stand out against the fading sky as they wait for the moon. It works, since she's always one step of the moon, anyway, always knowing what her country is going to do before it happens, and able to take the correct action. She's mysterious and enticing, all the while retaining a certain...wholeness. She's not flimsy, like the twilight dreams flitting beneath the windowsill, but sure of herself.

A smile curls around her lips, and purple ornaments sway and glint in her hair.

"Kurogane? We're entering the audience room now." She reminds him, a laugh dancing behind her eyes. Eyes that are exactly the same color as...

He shakes his head and follows her through the doors.

It's never good for him to be distracted. Especially when she notices.


	52. He's Still a Ninja Rock Star

_Prompt: Lightning_

Thanks for all the reviews, everyone! I've really appreciated the suggestions and awesome outpouring of support for this series! This drabble is basically the result of too much P!nk. I recommend listening to "So What?" while reading.

Enjoy!

--cy.

* * *

Kurogane picked at a leather strap on his shoulder distastefully, as Fai stretched his arms and twirled the sticks he held deftly. Syaoran was behind them a little, trying to make sense of the black box that his guitar was plugged into.

"Remind me why we're doing this again."

Lightning seemed to flash out across the club's dance floor as Sakura adjusted the microphone stand nervously. She ended up having so much trouble with it that Syaoran had to leave his strumming and help her with it. She smiled at him embarrassedly.

Fai tapped out a lazy beat. "Because it's fun, Kuro-min!"

"I didn't think I'd enjoy learning to play this much," Syaoran mused, still bent over the box.

"Not to mention we were getting really tired of having to take Sakura gambling in every world we passed through," Fai added. "Trying out a job is a lot more interesting than watching slots go by, right, Sakura-chan?"

The girl nodded, her hands a little shaky, causing her tambourine to rattle with the motion.

Kurogane sighed. He was clad in all manner of odd clothing: a shirt that looked more like a fishing net than an article of clothing, wearing more belts than he would have previously thought possible for a human being, with tight leather pants and a black and red guitar to complete the ensemble. He'd been told that the guitar he held was electric, but that hardly made sense. What, was it powered by a lightning storm or something?

He briefly seethed to himself at how easily he'd gotten dragged into this.

The strobe lights flickered once again, and coupled with the roar of voices and stomping, he actually wondered whether they were in a storm or not. The music of the song seemed to be swelling around them as they prepared to go on.

"Alright, everyone, do your best!" chirps the pork bun, hefting a mallet twice its size as it prepares to assist Fai on the drums.

Syaoran finished getting the settings straightened out on his amplifier, and nodded. Sakura gulped, and stood straighter, her pink and black dress swaying with all the lace it had on it.

Lights flashed on them, and Kurogane grinned darkly. If he was using the power of storms to play this thing, what couldn't he do? His fingers plucked out a baseline and the melody spun into motion.

Hell, maybe he had a future as a rock star after all.


End file.
